22 Jul Community Littering – Community Pride
We have a lot to be proud of here in our Skyview Ranch community. Newly paved streets, smooth even sidewalks, green spaces, walking paths, public parks, playgrounds and more.
We also have two associations to help us all keep our community safe and clean; a place to be proud of.
Skyview Ranch Community Association and Skyview Ranch Home Owners’ Association work hard to keep our community a beautiful place. Each year these two groups work together with the City of Calgary to operate a Community Clean-up Day in May and a Back Alley Bin cleanup event in June to allow residents to get rid of unwanted items from their homes and yards – and all free of charge! Volunteers from the two associations spend their time and effort to help everyone get rid of “junk” at no cost and without having to drive to the city’s landfill sites.
As well, funds from the Home Owners Association pays a contractor to maintain and cleanup public spaces, like playgrounds and parks. This cleanup is done every day of the year, picking up all the litter left by users of basketball courts, playgrounds and the park spaces in general and as a result costs every home owner in the community.
But there is more we all as residents need to do, and can do every day to keep our community clean, healthy and safe. One simple task we can all take on is preventing and
cleaning up Community Litter. This kind of litter ranges from casually dropping empty drink cups and bottles in the playgrounds, tossing used cigarette, cannabis and vape materials on lawns and streets, or stuffing unwanted flyers (ie junk mail) behind or between the Canada Post boxes, and all the way up to deliberately dumping old mattresses, sofas and other unwanted pieces of furniture in alleys, ditches and vacant land around our community.
Littering is an act of disrespect for the neighbourhood, it is unsightly and can even be unsafe. The City of Calgary has bylaws covering littering – which in part say:
- Waste must not be disposed of on any public property, aside from in an appropriate receptacle.
- The improper disposal of burning material, including lit cigarettes, will result in an increased fine.
- If a vehicle is involved in a littering offence, the registered owner of that vehicle may be charged.
- When someone deliberately dumps waste on public or private property without consent, they are dumping illegally.
- Illegal dumping costs everyone, negatively affects our environment, wildlife, and use of public spaces, and can create safety hazards. When items are dumped in public
spaces, The City must absorb these costs, reducing other service opportunities. Fines for violations of these regulations range between $500 and $1000. These bylaws and fines are administered by the city. But bylaw officers are not able to monitor and police every suburb every day, so what can we do every day to help keep our
community a clean and tidy place for us all?
Here are a few suggestions:
- do not litter. Simply, do not drop anything on the street, parks, alleys or neighbour’s lawn,
- bin your garbage and recyclables. When putting your household garbage in the black, blue or green bin, make sure it all goes in the bin and keep the lid closed. Magpies and crows love to peck through garbage bags and can carry loose garbage for many blocks spreading your garbage around the neighbourhood,
- pick it up. If you do see litter or garbage near your bins after the city truck has emptied them, clean it up and put it in the appropriate bin. No, the truck driver will not clean up what the bin dumping machinery spills. And while out walking or perhaps cycling – stop, pick up a piece or two of litter and put it in a nearby bin,
- dog owners clean up after your pet. The Home Owners Association provides “doggy poo” bags free at every park and green space in the community. And cleaning up means taking that bag home with you or putting it in the garbage bins provided rather than tossing it against a neighbour’s fence or hiding it near a post.
- Report illegal dumping. The city of Calgary website explains the bylaws and how to make a complaint using the 311 app by phone, mobile device or computer.
https://www.calgary.ca/bylaws/topics.html?redirect=/bylaws - And perhaps most importantly: teach our children and young people to be proud of our community and keep it clean. Show them by example about putting garbage where it belongs and not littering; by cleaning up our own alleys and streets and by respecting everyone’s rights to enjoy a clean, healthy and safe community.
