Rural trails no place for plastic confetti, group says

On a regular patrol of their trail this week, officials with the Morell River Management Cooperative in eastern P.E.I. were dismayed to discover hundreds of pieces of plastic snowflake confetti, likely used in a photo shoot. 

Confetti bombs containing large amounts of paper or plastic confetti have become popular with people taking photos or videos, especially for social media, and for events like gender reveal parties — pink confetti for a girl, blue for a boy. 

"We were kind of surprised to find that there," said group co-ordinator Hannah Murnaghan, who outlined her concerns on the organization's Facebook page.

The confetti was difficult to clean up because some of it had already been frozen into the ground, she said. It took volunteers a couple of hours to pick up all the pieces using shovels and picking up individual pieces by hand.

"We're pretty sure we got all the pieces, but if we hadn't have got them all, rain or wind would have eventually carried them into the river and that would end up impacting the aquatic life," she explained. 

'Long, slow death'

Plastics left in the environment can have negative consequences on the health of wild animals, says Parks Canada wildlife health specialist Dave McRuer, who works out of the Atlantic Veterinary College in Charlottetown. 

Animals may eat the plastic, which cannot be digested or passed.

"This blockage or impaction can lead to starvation and a long, slow death," McRuer said. "Depending on environmental conditions, larger pieces of plastic may break down into microplastics; pieces less than 5 millimetres in length. These are known to negatively impact hormone cycles, reproduction, and growth."

Cigarette butts are also a concern, Murnaghan said — toxic chemicals from the filters can leach into the soil and water.

"Plastic doesn't belong in the environment," Murnaghan said. "If you take it in with you, take it out, whether you're going for a picnic, a photo shoot, fishing or a hike."   

She said the people who left the confetti have contacted the organization and apologized, and have also volunteered to help with future clean-up projects.  

She urges people who want to use confetti to search for biodegradable paper versions rather than plastic. 

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