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What do a heavy vehicle tire, 6 bicycles, festival fences, an airport locker, traffic cones and thousands of cigarette butts have in common? Well, it’s simple… they all laid at the bottom of the St. Lawrence River before the September 19th clean-up operation in Quebec City, put together by the Blue Organization. ”The main thing is really to realize that on the surface of the river, everything looks clean, everything looks beautiful, but when you get underwater… phew, there’s a reality that you don’t see” says Anne-Marie Asselin, co-founder of the Blue Organization and marine biologist.

Part of the Tribu team participated in the second Quebec edition of World Cleanup Day with the goal of collecting as much garbage as possible in three hours. Armed with buckets donated by YETI, our team contributed to the collection of 2 tons of garbage in the Quebec City area alone. ”It’s alarming to find so many weird things. Tires are still petroleum products. Last year, we took a motorcycle out of the river. There was gas tank in there.”

While our team was based in the Bassin Louise, more than 150 other participants patrolled from l’Ange-Gardien to Île d’Orléans, via the coastal bicycle path in Beauport. In total, a dozen locations were cleaned in Quebec, intercepting more than five tons of waste from our river. ”Not only does the St. Lawrence River provide us with water, it is also our source of life,” says Anne-Marie. ”It’s thanks to the river that we farm. It’s really alarming to find all this under water… We swim in this water, we drink this water.”

Fortunately, the response has been strong for a second year in a row and the river is already a little cleaner than last week… but less than next year, let’s hope. To learn more we invite you to take a look at this video from RAB. “It’s encouraging to see people mobilizing.” We invite you to follow the Blue Organization so that you don’t miss their upcoming initiatives. Otherwise, combine business with pleasure by purchasing a YETI x JACKALOPE mug… 40% of the profits will be donated to the Blue Organization.