With the arrival of spring, crews are hard at work cleaning up the litter left behind by melting snow in City parks, along streets, and on sidewalks.
The cleanup, which is expected to last several weeks, includes the removal of garbage and debris, with street sweepers covering routes throughout the City to clean the grit and dirt that accumulated over the winter.
In 2024, Public Works collected over 333 tonnes of garbage from the 388 bins maintained year-round in parks and along the City’s trails. This represents a 41% increase from 2023. Crews also picked up 80 tonnes of illegally dumped waste and five tonnes of smaller litter items like wrappers, bottles, and coffee cups. Volunteers with Clean Up Peterborough collected over 50,000 cigarette butts from local streets, trails, and paths.
The litter in Peterborough is made up of various materials, including 34% recyclables, 32% cigarette butts and smoking-related waste, 25% food waste, and 5% textiles. Crews regularly maintain the City’s 713 garbage receptacles, and residents are encouraged to report any full bins through the City’s online portal at peterborough.ca/ServiceRequest.
In addition to the litter cleanup, the City’s street sweeping program is removing pollutants from roadways and improving the cleanliness of streets and parking lots. Street sweepers will cover all 958 lane kilometres of City roads, sidewalks, trails, and parking lots from March to May, starting with the downtown core. Residents are asked to help by keeping streets clear of obstructions and parking away from the curb to allow sweeping equipment to do its job effectively.
(Written by: Scott Arnold)
