Provincial Day of Action on Litter raises awareness on its impact in our community

HAMILTON, ON – The Province of Ontario has declared today, Tuesday, May 9, 2023, as the Provincial Day of Action on Litter. The day encourages individuals, students, municipalities and businesses across the province to work together to raise awareness about the impacts of litter and waste and take part in a litter cleanup.

The City of Hamilton through work by its own staff and the support of the community is aiming to reduce the amount of litter. Not only is litter unsightly but it can also have a negative impact on our natural environment. Litter along our shorelines, in our green spaces and on our streets can spill into our waterways and break down into micro-plastics in the environment, which can hurt or even kill wildlife and damage ecosystems.

A report to the City’s Public Works Committee on April 17, 2023 also demonstrated that litter collection can be expensive. Staff were directed by Council to “report back to Public Works Committee with the annual amount expended on litter collection across the city, outside of regularly scheduled efforts by Waste Management.” The estimated costs were $2,191,811 in 2020, $2,665,812 in 2021 and $2,350,779 in 2022.

Litter collection is a core City service through its Public Works Department. Waste Management is responsible for the collection of streetside litter containers and also operates curbside waste collection and community recycling centres where residents can properly dispose of waste and recycling which is not collected at the curb. Other city waste and litter collection efforts include:

• collection and disposal of litter in parks, cemeteries and City-owned natural open spaces;
• routine collection and disposal of litter within the right-of-way, including along the Lincoln Alexander and Red Hill Valley Parkway and in alleys;
• collection of any illegal dumped materials on city property such as in ditches, roadways and parks;
• bi-annual watercourse and shoreline clean-ups, and litter collection at stormwater facilities and storm sewer outfalls.

The City values the role that volunteers play in keeping our public spaces both “Clean and Green”. The City coordinates and supports several volunteer initiatives, which include litter remediation programs, such as Team Up to Clean Up and Adopt-a-Park, as well as other community-led litter pick-up activities.

Litter remediation program supplies are funded by the Keep Hamilton Clean and Green Committee. The Team Up to Clean Up Program in 2022 had 4,041 volunteers collecting 8,760 bags of garbage and recycling, contributing 12,017 volunteer hours, a value of nearly $316,000.

There are actions we can all take to put litter in its proper place:

• Wind-blown waste and recycling: try not to overfill your blue box or garbage container as loose items above the brim can blow down the street and become litter.
• Preventing waste and litter: do your part to stop waste before it is created, and before it has the chance to become litter. For example, choose to buy goods with less packaging or bring a reusable cup to take-out establishments that allow them.
• Properly disposing of waste in public spaces: Make sure trash is securely placed in garbage bins in public spaces like our parks. This will help keep our neighbourhoods clean.