By Alex Soloducha

City group encourages spring clean-up

Jun 6, 2015 | 1:05 PM

It’s spring cleaning time and amidst residents cleaning their attics, garages and backyards, The Keep Prince Albert and Area Beautiful Committee is hoping to have help cleaning up around the city.

Charlene Tebbutt, communications co-chair with The Keep Prince Albert and Area Beautiful Committee says this weekend they’re continuing the clean-up of illegal dump sites outside of the city limits.  

For those who want to pitch in, they will be meeting at the old city yards from 9 a.m. until 3 p.m. both Saturday and Sunday.

“Everyone is welcome to come out join if you’d like to volunteer,” said Tebbutt.

Students from Saskatchewan Polytechnic had earlier completed inventory of illegal dumping sites, identifying 80 sites around Prince Albert.

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“Since we’ve launched in April we’ve cleaned up about 29 of those site, maybe a little more,” said Tebbutt. “The areas are all rural areas around Prince Albert.”

This week’s event also works alongside the City of Prince Albert’s household hazardous waste clean-up day. Residents can bring in used oil, paint and batteries for disposal for no charge.

“We’re trying to do it in conjuction with other events so that we can draw attention to those events,” said Tebbutt.

Tebbutt said she wants people to remember it’s illegal to dump garbage in the forest. Most of the items that are dumped illegally belong in a landfill or can be recycled.

The group will supplies bags and gloves to volunteers and for every bag of garbage that people bring in they will be entered into a draw for a big screen TV.

Tebbutt encouraged everyone to join in if possible.

“We’ll just put you to work when you get out there,” she said, laughing.

The group’s first clean-up day this year was held on April 25 and followed by another one in May.

Tebbutt said they are “trying to raise awareness, trying to build support for this idea to get more volunteers and hopefully stop the practise from happening.”

We’re quite pleased with the amount of support we’ve gotten from local groups and different organizations,” she said.

If anyone comes across something dangerous, they are asked to call a tip line.

Sarah Keith, manager of landfills with the Ministry of Environment, said these events are crucial to keeping the environment healthy.

“The dumping does cause environmental impacts such as impacts to the water, to the soil or to wildlife,” she said. 

“The more community participation we get the more successful we’ll be and the more sights that we’ll get cleaned up.”

As far as those individuals who seem to think dumping their garbage is OK, Keith said there are many other solutions.

“We encourage them to use approved landfills waste disposal grounds for their garbage,” she said.

On Twitter: @alex_soloducha

asoloducha@jpbg.ca