2026 Zero Waste Programs
Single-use Reduction Initiatives with Business Communities
Metro Vancouver residents are fortunate to be surrounded by the natural beauty of the Salish Sea. However, marine litter from disposables continues to be a blight on the health and beauty of our oceans. In tandem with our PickUp3 initiative, we aim to address the threat of marine litter at its source. With the support of Metro Vancouver and the West Vancouver Foundation, Ocean Ambassadors Canada is working with local business communities across Canada to launch single-use item reduction initiatives.
Calling all Volunteers! If you care about the health our ocean, we invite you to help us educate the public on how prevent marine litter at its source by volunteering. Learn more about the issue of single-use items and the circular economy from OAC staff and help spread the word at community events. Email us at info@oceanambassadorscanada.org and we’d love to chat about how you can help!
PROTECT WHAT WE LOVE – DEEP COVE
For the month of June, we’re launching Protect What We Love Deep Cove — a community initiative that inspires people to connect with and care for the natural spaces that make North Vancouver so special.
Throughout the month, participants can complete fun and accessible challenges — on their own, with friends, or as a family — including:
- Spend a few minutes on the government dock enjoying the ocean
- Bring a reusable mug to a Deep Cove coffee shop
- Take a walk in the rain or a hike/run in the forest
- Bring your own containers for takeout or leftovers
- Have a picnic in the park
- Dine in rather than take out
- Pick up 3 pieces of trash while walking your dog
- Explore the intertidal zone at the beach
- Any lots more to come!
How to Enter & Win
Post your challenge on Instagram and tag @oceanambassadorscanada and @pickup2canada to enter. Each post counts as one contest entry for weekly prize draws. No Instagram? No Problem. Text your photo to Ocean Ambassadors at 604-312-6023.
Launch Party June 1st, 7:00pm at Deep Cove Yacht Club
Protect What We Love Pop-up Event – June 4th
Thank you to everyone who registered for our Protect What We Love Launch Party on June 1st at the Deep Cove Yacht Club! We’ve had an incredible response, and the tickets are now sold out.
If you weren't able to get tickets, we'd still love for you to be part of the excitement. Join us at our Protect What We Love pop-up event on Thursday, June 4th, from 6:00–8:00 PM and discover how you can get involved in this exciting community initiative. No need to register, come by and:
- Learn more about the campaign and how you can help protect the places we love
- Learn how to win amazing prizes donated by our generous local merchants
- Make your pledge to help create a cleaner, healthier ocean
- Snap a photo at our fun Surfing Toward Zero Waste photo booth (pets welcome!)
- Buy one of our beautiful Deep Cove t-shirts and show your support for the cause
Bring your family, friends, and furry companions—we can't wait to see you there!
Why it Matters
Protect What We Love Deep Cove is about building lasting stewardship through positive community action and inspiring people to care for our coastlines, community, and environment.
We would love to have you involved in this community celebration.
Starting June 1st, find daily challenges on Instagram @oceanambassadorscanada.
Metro Vancouver: Community Event Outreach and “Lunch & Learn” Webinars for Office Workers
With support from Metro Vancouver, Ocean Ambassadors will have an outreach booth at community events across the region this summer to promote reuse and the prevention of single-use item waste.
Starting in late August, we will begin offering free Lunch & Learn webinars for office employees to help them understand the growing problem of single-use item waste and simple steps they can take at work and in their community to reduce their impact.
Single-use Reduction Initiatives with Business Communities
The post-Covid world has seen a jump in the use of single-use items. Ocean Ambassadors Canada, with the generous support of local & regional governments, is working with local businesses to help them, and their employees, reduce their single-use item waste and move toward a more circular economy. We understand that business owners face tremendous time and economic pressures preventing them, and their staff, from understanding the scale of single-use item problem for our communities and what role they can play to help reduce their impact.
Through our current programs, Ocean Ambassadors Canada provides participating businesses with a broad range of supports and insights, including:
- Identifying current levels of single-use item waste produced by businesses and their employees.
- Providing the most current information on:
- Upcoming federal, provincial, and municipal regulations
- Regional waste management system logistics
- Most/least problematic single-use item materials, in terms of recyclability & compostability
- Marine impacts of single-use items
- Best practices for increasing reuse.
- Sourcing of alternative products
- Connection to local sharing platforms
- Planning and launching in-house waste reduction initiatives
- Ongoing email support
“Plastics in the ocean are a clear sign of a broken system, as this was never intended to happen. That is why rethinking the way we make and use plastics is so crucial: how can we capture the material’s benefits, retain its value, and make sure it does not end up where it does not belong.”