Yellowknife (Sep 15/06) - Volunteers hauled almost a half-tonne of garbage from the shores of Frame Lake over the weekend.

Yellowknifers took part in the Great Canadian Shoreline Clean-up on Saturday, which was organized and run by TD Canada Trust's Mike Adamchick.

"It's the environmentally right thing to do," Adamchick said of the event.

Three years ago, they cleaned up three half tons of garbage, said Adamchick.

"It was quite an eye opener to see what was there.

"We're also recording the items we pull out to see how it changes," he said.

This year Adamchick said the most interesting thing they pulled out was a GameBoy.

Following the clean-up, which lasted from 9:30 a.m. to noon, Adamchick held a barbecue for volunteers at his home.

According to TD Canada Trust stats, cigarettes and cigarette filters are the most common items of trash picked up off the ground.

Over 200,000 filters cleaned from shorelines across Canada.

Unusual items that have been collected across the country as part of the campaign included love letters, half a breast pump, golf cart, potato gun, and an 18 karat gold ring.

Adamchick said he is frustrated at all of the garbage littering the area.

"This has the makings of a fantastic tourist area. People who come here are kind of awe struck."

Last year, TD Canada Trust became the title sponsors of the event and has been supporting the Vancouver Aquarium, which started the program 12 years ago.

"It's been really exciting for us to be able to reach out in remote and urban areas," said Kathleen Smith, manager of TD Canada Trust's Great Canadian Shoreline Cleanup.

Adamchick still isn't done some of his clean-up in Yellowknife, however.

"I pulled out a shopping cart last night. I still have to pull out three chairs left over from the Caribou Carnival."