You would expect to find paper and old takeout containers littered on the ground of Toronto parks, but coming across a boat is a thing only a few people can say they’ve seen.
“We found part of a canoe on one cleanup… and we used it to stage all of the other waste we collected,” says Nancy Ruscica, manager of outreach and engagement for the City of Toronto.
She’s participated in many park cleanups as part of Clean Toronto Together, an annual spring cleanup initiative, and has seen every type of trash imaginable.
“There are also lots of plastic bags and cigarette butts,” Ruscica says, but cleanup teams scouring the city have also come across more interesting finds.
To celebrate this year’s Clean Toronto Together events on April 26 to 28, the City of Toronto provided Global News with some of their favourite odd finds.
WATCH: Clean Toronto Together campaign (April 18, 2019)
Explosive Surprise
One of the most unusual items ever found in a park cleanup was a grenade. “We were doing a cleanup at a park in the downtown and one person found an old grenade in the bushes,” Ruscica says.
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The crew called 911 immediately and a bomb squad cleared out the surrounding streets and removed what turned out to be a smoke grenade.
“We have also found bullets in a park which was, as you can imagine, quite a shocker,” she adds.
Shoes, beer, and other surprises
Cleanup groups across the city have found beer (sometimes full bottles and cans) on numerous occasions hidden in the bushes.
“We’ve also found lots shoes,” says Ruscica. “But it’s never a pair of shoes and it always seems to be a left side. I’m not sure what’s going on with that.”
And then there are the toys and shopping carts. Crews often uncover dropped and lost toys such as stuffies and dolls that were once loved. You can’t forget about shopping carts either. “They often get pushed into ravines and bushes,” says Ruscica.
Money
It turns out spring cleaning can prove lucrative. “One man found a $5 bill on Toronto Island and later found a $20 bill in another park. I guess he’s lucky that way,” says Ruscica.
What to do if you find unsafe objects
If you do uncover something you might think is dangerous or anything that looks like it’s related to criminal activity, “stop the cleanup and call police,” says Ruscica.
“Just clear the area and wait for the professionals to get there,” she says. “It’s safety first.” However, unsafe items such as sharps should be flagged by calling 311 instead.
In the meantime, do keep safety top of mind when you’re doing a spring cleanup. Be sure to wear gloves and be careful about where you step and debris that could mask objects.
Watch for hazardous waste too—batteries, aerosol containers and similar items should be set aside from recycling and litter.
Want to know more? Check out www.livegreentoronto.ca for information about the 16th annual city-wide cleanup that will take place April 26 to 28. Register your group’s cleanup to learn about free recycling and litter bags to dispose of waste.
