Knock on wood, spring has finally sprung.
Warmer weather and longer days mean more time to play outside in the sunshine and refreshingly above-zero temperatures. It also means a quick melt of last winter’s heaps of snow.
And what does that melt reveal?
If you were hoping to read “near-green grass and budding crocuses,” I’m right there with you, but the reality is much less idyllic.
Under what was once a blanket of fluffy white snow that turned the town into a dreamy winter wonderland lies what seems to be a season’s worth of garbage.
Trash. Cans. Beer boxes. Plastic bags. Cigarette butts (seriously, the cigarette butts).
It seems the discarded remnants of someone else’s fun are everywhere you turn, in town and out, in city playgrounds, down popular stretches of the old highway and littering prominent ice fishing spots.
It’s both baffling and infuriating, and completely incomprehensible.
As someone who spent the majority of the last decade living in and backcountry hiking hundreds of kilometres through some of Canada’s national parks and protected spaces, where littering is strictly prohibited and heavily enforced by both officials and fellow hikers (the shame one would feel if they were caught littering by a fellow backcountry enthusiast might be the greatest deterrent of all), I know the simple truth about trash, and I’m going to bestow it upon you. Ready? Here it is: The trash you create is not in any way difficult to pick up or pack out.
If you feel like the above statement is obvious or a touch condescending, yay, you! You’re probably one of those folks who are conscientious about the garbage you create, and are careful not to litter. Heck, you might even find yourself picking up someone else’s trash for the sake of the environment and the appearance of our space, and for that, I commend you.
But it’s clear some people aren’t getting the message.
The reality is ugly. Literally, it’s an eyesore.
The cans, cardboard, plastic and other junk carelessly discarded and left uncollected hurt our local ecosystems and environment. Environmental stewardship’s not your thing? Any way you look at it, it comes down to personal pride, in ourselves and the spaces we use and inhabit. The choice not to litter is a matter of taking ownership of our spaces and being respectful in how we treat them.
With the smallest amount of preparation and forethought, it takes next to no effort to not litter when it’s just you and your pack for dozens of kilometres. It takes even less effort when you have access to publicly provided trash receptacles or a vehicle if you’re in the bush. There’s no excuse for this type of carelessness in this day and age.
If you’re out and about in this fine spring weather, plan ahead. Use trash cans where you can, or pack a bag to pack out your litter. Those who use the same spaces will thank you.
