Spring Clean Up swept through city on Sunday
Out of more than 3,000 people registered for Prince George’s City Wide Spring Clean Up, one woman decided to strike out on her own to pick up garbage along Cowart Road Sunday morning.
Ginger McDonald, a resident of Cowart Road, already had about a third of her clear garbage bag filled and clasped in her redgloved hand as she stopped to chat.
“It’s about getting rid of the garbage and about improving the esthetics,” McDonald said. “It’s hard to believe that people feel they can just roll down their window or just drop garbage wherever. You know what’s really horrid is the number of cigarettes butts I’ve found, especially because of where we’re at with our forests, right? But there are so many cigarette butts – it’s unbelievable.”
McDonald is one of many in her complex who have committed to the Cowart Road clean up but she’s out a week early because she’s busy when most of the other volunteers will do their part next Sunday. This is McDonald’s third year participating in the clean up.
“We all take pride in the complex and where we live,” McDonald said. “I’m one of many people out today and it’s really not a big deal to do it. It’s good to get out and get some exercise and enjoy the sunshine.”
Popular clean up locations were Domano Boulevard at Highway 16 West, Hart Highway Plaza, along Highway 16 by the cemetery, and at the corners of Highway 16 and 97 near Mr. P.G.
Recycling & Environmental Action Planning Society (REAPS) has been involved with the annual clean up since 1995 as a part of the City’s Civic Pride movement.
“It’s a national event that happens every year,” said Terri McClymont, REAPS executive director, said. “Everybody gets out to beautify our community.”
McClymont said there is an interactive map to show what areas are being covered by what groups and organizations and there are more than 40 on it so far, which sees more than 3,000 people covering more than 1,000 hectares of Prince George.
Sunday was the main event but earlier this week and next week, people are still participating in the clean up effort. Last week, the Prince George Regional Correctional Centre had volunteers take on Foothills Boulevard as that road leads to the landfill. When people don’t tie down their loads, garbage often flies out of vehicles to make the road particularly unsightly.
Last week, Cedars Christian school students cleaned up along North Nechako Road from the school to where the road meets Foothills, McClymont said.
“The students picked up a whack load of stuff,” she added.
“And we’ve already had businesses registered with the Downtown Business Association picking up downtown.”
McClymont said she’d really like to encourage all the fast food places to take some time with their staff to pick up the litter around their restaurants.
She was able to get a City of Prince George myPG community grant for an initiative called Youth Leadership Clean Up Sweep, that sees high school students clean up for one day their school yards and routes to and from fast food restaurants nearest them and in return earn $200 to go towards their leadership program.
“That way they can see how much litter gets deposited by their peers and hopefully guilt them into not doing that,” McClymont said. All six secondary schools in Prince George, including private schools, are on board and once McClymont is given proof of the clean up of school yards, pathways, roads and full garbage bags through photos, she will award the money.
McClymont said it’s important to register so participation can be tracked to avoid areas being duplicated and for future sponsorship.
It takes a community to make the clean up happen, including sponsorship from the landfills that waive tipping fees, to bins being donated, grants awarded, garbage bags and gloves offered for free and to keep Prince George clean.