For anyone looking to dispose of ocean plastic/marine styrofoam that has washed up on the beach, we had success bringing a load to the solid waste collection at the Comox Valley Regional Waste Management Centre. We called ahead to make sure it was okay, not sure if that part was necessary as they seemed fine with taking it whenever the center is open (8am-5:30pm, every day). We had a small truck filled with sytrofoam that we had collected off the beach, and it ended up costing $10, which wasn't too bad, all things considered.

Comox Valley Waste Management Center is also a partner of Ocean Legacy Foundation, which they announced last June (https://www.cswm.ca/about/news/ocean-plastic-depot-now-open-cumberland) so theoretically, it might be possible to get some of this stuff recycled!

"Comox Strathcona Waste Management (CSWM) has opened an ocean debris recycling depot in partnership with Ocean Legacy Foundation at the Comox Valley Waste Management Centre, 3699 Bevan Road in Cumberland. This depot will accept materials from shoreline cleanup efforts and legacy equipment from the marine sector, providing essential infrastructure to divert these plastic resources from the landfill and reduce oceanic pollution.

Accepted materials include abandoned, lost or discarded fishing gear, marine debris, and legacy equipment including some netting and rope, polystyrene foam (Styrofoam), hard plastic and select buoys. Advanced notice is required in order to drop off ocean debris at the new depot, as all the materials need to be sorted in advance. For more information and to sign up to use the depot, please contact cumberlanddepotoceanlegacy.ca."

Not sure why our load got routed to solid waste instead of the ocean debris recycling area, but I'm sure they had their reasons.