Spring melt leaves needles, garbage and sand piling up on Winnipeg streets

WINNIPEG — The snow and ice in Winnipeg is slowly melting away, revealing a variety of garbage and a lot of sand which may have been hidden underneath all winter.

From cigarettes and needles to frozen sand and salt, some streets are in desperate need of a spring cleaning, some Winnipeggers said.

“It’s not right. there should be someone picking up the garbage. Doing a better job making the city look nice,” Joan Nepinak, who lives on Furby Street said.

RELATED: Dozens join West End cleanup effort

On her daily walks, Nepinak said she is often finding needles, beer bottles and other concerning items on the ground, now that the snow has melted.

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“There’s children walking around. You never know what disease you can pick up from these needles.”

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In other areas of the city, sand and salt is creating a mess on streets and sidewalks. In some areas of St. Boniface sand has piled more than a few feet high.

“I figure it’s just the price of living in Winnipeg,” St. Boniface resident, Jennifer Adair said.

On average, the city said the use around 50,000 tonnes of sand every winter to help clear streets and sidewalks. This winter, they estimate that more than 60,000 tonnes was used in total.

The annual city spring cleanup typically doesn’t begin until mid-April.

RELATED: Cleaners look to make downtown streets sparkle

Members of the Downtown Winnipeg Biz’s Enviro Team are currently out picking up litter on the sidewalks. Jeremy Roulette is one of those workers and said this year’s mess doesn’t compare to the year before.

“Way busier, because we saw massive amounts of snow in a compressed time,” Routlette said.

On average, Roulette said the Enviro Team was using 200 lbs. of sand and salt a day, to keep downtown streets clean over the winter.