Witless Bay creates massive puffin out of beach garbage

Residents of Witless Bay turned a weekend cleanup of their coastal Newfoundland community into more than just an ordinary activity.

"We made the world's largest puffin ever made out of garbage, and I think it might be the world's largest puffin ever, anyways," said Mayor Sébastien Després.

The town pitched its support behind the annual cleanup organized by the Kinsmen community organization, with dozens of volunteers showing up to pick up garbage in ditches, along roads and especially on the community's beach, about 30 kilometres south of St. John's.

The puffin is important to Witless Bay, with the seabird serving as the community's icon and on its logo. Nearby is the Witless Bay Ecological Reserve, a protected cluster of islands that are home to the largest breeding colony of puffins in North America.

A large outline of a puffin was made on the beach on Saturday, with dozens of volunteers pulling in garbage they had picked up nearby. By the end of the day, they together picked up 5,632 pounds of waste, or 2,554 kg.

"It makes sense," Després said the project.

"It reminds us that we have a responsibility towards the reserve to pick up our garbage, clean up after ourselves, [and] make sure that our town is environmentally responsible."

Després said the town will be submitting its claim to the Guinness Book of World Records.