Metro Vancouver woman highlights dangers of glass shards by collecting them from local beach

PORT MOODY, B.C. -

A Port Moody woman is fed up with what she calls a dangerous problem on her local beach, so she took matters into her own hands.

Sylvia Swan, a long-time Port Moody resident, regularly swims at Old Orchard Park beach and when she does, she often finds shards of glass.

“It’s pathetic the city hasn’t done anything about this problem,” she said.

Swan said she’s always picked up the shards and thrown them in the garbage, but it was only in the past few days that she’s been collecting the shards and labelling each container with how many pieces are found each day.

She said she and other swimmers have found between 60 and 90 each time.

“We’re trying to get as many as we can so hopefully we can make a dent in the situation, but the situation is when the tide comes in twice a day, it’s rolling the glass in with it,” she said.

Swan said she has had her foot cut by a piece of glass and doesn’t feel safe being barefoot in the sand.

She’s also witnessed children get cut while playing in the sand.

“It breaks my heart to see somebody trying to make a sand castle and they said, ‘Look, mummy, I found a shiny piece of glass.’ It just breaks my heart because we should be looking after them – that’s our job,” Swan said.

She also expresses concern for the wildlife which may inadvertently consume the glass.

Last week, the City of Port Moody launched a pilot project allowing public drinking at seven designated parks and beaches, including Old Orchard Park.

Swan is worried this will worsen the glass issue.

“The tide coming in can pick up a bottle and smash it on the rocks and they've got the same problem all over again with the glass,” she said.

Swan has met with a city staffer and wants to see immediate action taken.

Anna Mathewson, general manager of community services for the city, said they are taking the concerns seriously.

“Staff are following up on these concerns, some of which (like sand replenishment) are longer-term management actions,” Matthewson wrote in an email to CTV News Vancouver.

She said staff is also listening to Swan’s concerns about the public consumption of booze, adding they will be monitoring the locations of the pilot project closely.

“We will make adjustments as needed such as enhanced waste collection or additional signage or recycling bins at permitted sites,” she wrote.

Swan doesn't plan to stop picking up the shards until the city solves the issue.