It’s time for our City’s annual spring cleanup.
Spring is filled with beauty: crocuses, snow drops, tulips and daffodils in bloom; trees budding; and birds chirping. Alas, this beauty is often overshadowed by the ugly spoils of winter litter, including dog poop, discarded coffee cups, pop cans and water bottles, cigarette packages and butts and other assorted nasty rubbish.
Sadly, our tax dollars are wasted on the unnecessary task of cleaning up after people’s bad behaviour. Surely, these stretched dollars would be better spent elsewhere.
The City’s litter operations run 16 hours per day, seven days a week and cost our City millions of dollars a year.
In addition to their ongoing efforts, in April they ask each of us for a mere hour of our time as a community to lend a helping hand and give the City – our City – a good spring cleaning. Cost effectiveness! Teamwork! Pride! Community!
I encourage all of us to visit a local park, public space or street to help clean up between April 25 and 27.
Taking part is easy:
- -Select your space.
- -Pick your time.
- -Gather your people.
- -Register your cleanup and arrange for special litter collection, if required.
- -Gather your supplies.
- -Share your photos using hashtag #cleantoronto.
For more info: https://www.toronto.ca/explore-enjoy/festivals-events/clean-toronto-together/
I know it’s both annoying and disgusting to clean up someone else’s waste. But there is something satisfying about contributing to beautifying our community.
I used to quote Jane Jacobs: “People don’t litter where there is no litter.” I think she would be sad to learn that this no longer seems to be the case. Rather, as a Leaside Life reader wrote: “Where there are (emphasis added) people there is litter,” and this sentiment now seems to be more accurate.
I leave it up to you to decide whether you can spare an hour of your time and want to get your hands dirty. But I hope you join in! Leasiders litter in Leaside and the City can’t possibly pick up every piece of detritus in every neighbourhood every day. If we don’t care about a litter-free Leaside, who will?
I’ve got my block of Rumsey Road covered. And I’ll take a stab at Trace Manes Park. How about you? Ready to dig in?
