It’s a time of year that requires some clean-up. Lethbridge streets and natural spaces aren’t immune to litter, something that becomes even more evident in the spring.
Curtis Goodman, resource development coordinator at the Helen Schuler Nature Centre in Lethbridge said litter is a global and local problem, impacting the environment in a variety of ways.
“When we look at the local results for litter here in Lethbridge, what we find is cigarette butts are the number one item by quantity,” Goodman said.
“Almost 50 per cent of little here in lethbridge is comprised of cigarette butts.”
According to Goodman, the impact of litter includes long-term threats due to plastic accumulation and immediate threats to local animals and birds.
“Not a year goes by where I don’t receive photos from people out photographing wildlife where they have seen litter impact wildlife,” he said.
As people spend more time enjoying the outdoors, he encourages them to take care of their surroundings.
“Make sure that every piece of litter you generate makes it where it belongs,” Goodman said. “Make sure that by managing your own litter you’re not contributing to the larger problem.”
But even putting items in the right place can lead to the wrong result. In 2019, the City of Lethbridge launched blue carts for recycling. Since then, they’ve heard complaints from residents about bins blowing over.
James Nicholls, the city’s waste, utility, and environment collections manager, said several solutions have been in the works since 2020.
“The main one is a pretty simple lid latch, it’s just this little piece,” he explained. “It basically just pushes into the lid of the cart and then latches onto the side of the cart and it prevents that lid from becoming a bit of a sail.”
The pilot for the latches started with around 100 bins, but will be expanding to several thousand in the near future
Nicholls said it’s a simple solution that could pick up traction.
“It’s been positive feedback and so far our operators have been happy with them as well so, hoping that this expanded pilot and expanding it across entire routes can really show us if this is something we want to move forward on across the city.”
The Helen Schuler Nature Centre’s annual coulee cleanup initiative is launching on Earth Day, April 22.
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