It also showed the need for having more garbage cans in public spaces, columnist says It’s nearly Community Clean Up Week! Every spring, the town puts on this initiative for residents to pitch in and clean up the litter around town. It’s the perfect time of year to do it when all the garbage emerges after the snow melts. The town makes it easy to participate in the clean up by providing free kits at the BWG Leisure Centre. The kit comes in a nice reusable drawstring bag embossed with the town logo with two garbage bags, two plastic gloves, hand sanitizer, as well as clean up instructions and safety tips (and a bonus: sweet little coupons from local businesses Sweet B’s and Perfect SZN). Over the years, my family and I have taken part in this initiative, and every time, I’m blown away by how much trash we collect. I can’t help but wonder, what’s going through someone’s mind when they toss a coffee cup or candy wrapper into a park? Was it a moment of distraction? Or were they in a full-blown emergency situation, perhaps being chased by a wild animal? I try to give people the benefit of the doubt, but after seeing the sheer volume of litter out there… I’m skeptical. This year, my eldest son and I joined a group of amazing volunteers, including Coun. Cheraldean Duhaney and members of the BWG Women’s+ Group, for a cleanup in Ward 1. We met at Chris Hadfield Public School and made our way down Miller Park Avenue, ending at the Zehrs plaza. Our route took us through ditches and part of Grand Central Valley Trail, where we picked up everything from coffee cups and take-out bags to shredded Styrofoam, an empty diaper box, garage sale signs, broken vapes, and even some bags of doggy doo. (Thank goodness for the hand sanitizer!) What really surprised me was how quickly we filled up our bags and how invisible all that litter is when you’re just driving by. We left our full bags along the roadside for collection, feeling proud of our efforts. Side note: no one warned me about the burs! I left the ditches looking like a walking Velcro strip, but it was worth it. Being part of something that brings the community together and makes a visible impact feels incredibly rewarding. And it got me thinking: maybe we could have more garbage cans in public spaces? It’s no excuse for littering, of course, but a few extra bins wouldn’t hurt. And what if these clean-up kits were available all year round? We all want to live in a clean, beautiful community, why not make it easier to help out anytime? The Community Clean Up Week runs until April 27. So go on and get your kits, pitch in and help make Bradford beautiful. You can learn more about the week by visiting townofbwg.com.