Garbage piles continue to be a problem in the alleys of the Regina north central neighbourhood, but some local residents have taken it upon themselves to deal with the mess.
“It’s important to take pride in your neighbourhood,” Brayan Hill said Saturday. Hill spends several hours every weekend cleaning up the garbage in the alleyways.
“You find all sorts of treasures from couches to TVs, wood, diapers and rotton food,” she said walking through the alley. “If we can show an initiative and get other people to help, hopefully things will stay clean. Hopefully we make a difference.”
Hazardous materials such as needles are also in the community being cleaned up. Something volunteers say needs to change.
“That’s not a place where you want your children to play,” Corleen Wychreschuk said. “People want to know that if their kids are going out to play it’s a safe environment for them and we want to be able to offer that to families.”
The cleanup has support from city councillor Andrew Stevens who helped bring different disposal bins to the area to help the cleanup. He’s also offering on social media to help to other neighbourhoods who might want bins.
Wychreschuk said people working in the north central alleys hope that their efforts change people’s views on the community.
“It’s a good community and it’s filled with wonderful people, and I think there’s a terrible stigma that hangs over north centrals head,” she said. “I think that the public needs to see north central in a brighter light.”
Many people in the neighbourhood also came out from their houses to help pick up garbage. Nearly all the residents Global News attempted to speak to say that weekly garbage pickup and permanent garbage bins would help solve the issue.