Nineteen people participated in the annual Great Canadian Shoreline Cleanup along the Alouette River Sunday - 13 adults and five children.
Together they picked up 56 lbs of litter, three large bags of garbage and two bags of recycling within seven kilometres.
They bagged 916 cigarette butts, 73 plastic cigarillo tips, 74 food wrappers, 39 beverage cans, 21 plastic beverage bottles, glass beverage bottles, 19 plastic bags, 17 pieces of clothing in addition to foam, plastic and metal.
Some of the stranger items that were found were mangoes and lemons, plastic plant pots, construction materials, half sunken boats and a wooden pallet.
Organizer Laurie Darcus was pleased with the cleanup event and grateful to the volunteers who came out to help, especially those from the Pitt Meadows Paddling Club who were able to reach remote shores by canoe and kayak.
"It is not just aesthetically important, but wildlife can really suffer from all this litter and debris, from getting tangled in it, to ingesting poison," she said in an email.
Darcus hopes smokers will take the time to dispose cigarette butts in garbage cans as they are extremely toxic to small animals and birds.