(L-R) Red Deer city councillors Bruce Buruma, Lawrence Lee, Mayor Ken Johnston, Dianne Wyntjes, Kraymer Barnstable and Victor Doerksen picking up litter for the Green Deer campaign on Friday. (rdnewsNOW/Alessia Proietti)

By Alessia Proietti

Keeping the community clean

Red Deer city council roll up sleeves for Green Deer campaign

May 12, 2023 | 4:54 PM

Red Deer city council rolled up their sleeves on Friday to participate in the Green Deer Spring Cleanup Campaign.

Running from March 21 to May 31, the free program encourages residents to pick up litter and help keep the city clean.

Councillors, including Mayor Ken Johnston, spent one hour cleaning outside the Gary W. Harris Celebration Plaza (5205 48 Ave) and surrounding area.

“It doesn’t take much; if everyone pitches in, we can make quite a difference. Springtime is traditionally a time when we look at what’s been buried all winter and the opportunity to clear it back out. It’s a fun event and I hope people across the city see it as a fun event but it’s also an event of restoration in the community,” he said.

Alice Koning, Community Outreach Coordinator for the Waskasoo Environmental Education Society (WEES), says around 6,000 Red Deerians participate in the event each year.

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“It’s important for different reasons to different people. The environmental aspect is pretty obvious but a lot of people do it just because it feels good to do this act of kindness towards your community. You feel good afterwards; you’re getting psychical activity, you’re outside, it’s awesome,” she said.

Red Deer city councillor Kraymer Barnstable picks up litter for the Green Deer campaign on Friday. (rdnewsNOW/Alessia Proietti)

The mayor added that various community groups and non-profit organizations participate in the event, including one group of seniors that help throughout the entire year in what they call ‘plogging’; picking up litter while they jog.

Koning says litter caused by carelessness is a minority as most is caused by animals and wind; for example, overfilled garbage bins can leave animal access and displacement by wind.

While the project picks up garbage for landfills, other green initiatives in the city include the Blue and Green bins, for recycling and compost, respectively.

The mayor said that over the past few years, the city has consistently met their goal of diverting around 40 per cent of plastics from landfills. With services contracted to a private company, he was unable to confirm exactly why the remaining is put into landfills rather than recycled.

However, the mayor said he believes that percentage could increase if more people fully utilized the Blue bins.

All paper, cardboard, metal cans and plastics #1 – 7 can be placed in the bins. Glass bottles and jars are not accepted as, the City says, they break into small pieces when Blue carts are empties into the collection truck that cannot be recovered at the sorting facility. Instead, they say glass items should be brought to the Recycling Drop-off Depot.

He says council will be revisiting the City’s goals this Fall with a new Environmental Master Plan.

Initially started by the city roughly 20 years ago, the Green Deer program is now run by the WEES. Those interested can register online and pick up their free cleaning supplies at the Kerry Wood Nature Centre, Red Deer Recreation Centre, G.H. Dawe Community Centre, or Collicutt Centre.

“We’re fortunate; we call our city ‘the city in the park’ so this is a way of giving back to that park,” said Mayor Johnston.

Registrants also have a chance to win a new barbeque or one of eight $25 gift cards to Save-On-Foods.