‘Like a brand new town’: Iqaluit volunteers troll the city for trash
Foam, cigarette packages, even discarded bicycles collected during community cleanup efforts
Cole Tucker offers garbage bags and gloves Friday at the City of Iqaluit’s barbecue for people who wanted to help pick up litter as part of a community cleanup event. (Photo by Jeff Pelletier)
Iqaluit looked a bit cleaner Friday afternoon after the city invited people to come out and pick up trash.
“I think it’s a great community initiative,” said Joshua Russell, a resident who was out taking part in the event.
Iqaluit’s annual community cleanup typically occurs in June after the snow melts, exposing litter that had been hidden all winter. The city provides bags and gloves for the task.
Russell picked up an assortment of waste, including foam, cardboard, Tim Hortons cups and cigarette packages near the legislative assembly.
He expressed enthusiasm over what Iqaluit will look like after everyone is done.
“It’ll look like a brand new town,” he said.
Accompanying Russell was Ernestine Ngelah, who said keeping a clean environment is important to her.
“If your environment is not clean, there [can be] disease, health issues and so many other things,” she said.
A group of researchers who are in the city for the summer were busy collecting litter near the creek off Kugaalak Street, near D.J. Specialties.
Chris Coxsin, one of the researchers, picked up “so much stuff,” he said, including plastic, chip bags, Styrofoam and a bicycle.
“Everything we pull out here is going to be saved from going into the ocean and washing further down the coast, so it’s a nice area to focus on,” Coxsin said.
To reward participants, the city hosted a barbecue near the library with hot dogs and drinks.
Although I didn’t participate in the clean up, I just went to go eat.
Great so many who practice IQ principles and not just preach. My GN workplace has hundreds of smokers who say people can’t wear deodorant but they throw their smoke buts on the land and smell like smoking ashtray who t and stink the workplace Iiiiiiii good to see Inuks who practice and not just preach.
Why is it that littering is so acceptable here? It’s really sad to see kids and adults just toss empty containers and junk food wrappers on the ground like its not their problem. Thank u to the volunteers that showed up to clean but there needs to be a change in the culture. Littering is not acceptable. There is no Planet B.
What do you mean? , littering in south happens all time. difference is the cities budget for that lol
grass is greener on the otherside huh haha
Nice… so because people throw garbage all over the streets down south, you’re okay with garbage all over here? It’s not just a city thing – it’s a personal responsibility thing.
No. It’s far, far worse here. People actually sort their trash down south, and it is shocking to one’s senses when you see someone deliberately litter down there. And I have never seen someone just abandon all their camping crap on the land when they’re finished with it, but I see it all the time here.
Where do you go camping? Please enlighten us. Never seen it while going out camping along the bay. In any case, safe to say that the norm here is to condemn that kind of littering. “Senses” would be “shocked” here too if that kind of littering was witnessed. Come on
Pal, I see it on the regular. Open your eyes and take a walk sometime. Go to road to nowhere during and after summer. Better yet, go to Rotary Park in Apex right now. The garbage and leftovers from camping, smashed bottles and food remains from campfires are all over the place, deliberately left to rot. Just a week ago I watched someone park their truck at Rotary Park, dump two garbage bags and drive off. Littering in Iqaluit is a problem. It isn’t wrong or negative to acknowledge it.
Iqaluit city council should hire cleaners like other communities, create seasonal jobs and not just take away our time at work, I’m sure they won’t cover compensation for getting us injured.
It’s already trashed in parks and schoolyards after a few days, and the city still hasn’t picked up all the garbage bags from the cleaning day on the side of the street. Let’s wait for the for the next community clean-up day in 361 days!
Get the inmates from ACHF doing this all summer long, do the same in Rankin. This will save our municipal governments money while preparing the inmates for the hard work of real life after jail.
Nice to see people having pride in their community, thanks, I will be out there cleaning up
‘Like a brand new town’: Iqaluit volunteers troll the city for trash”
What do you mean? I still see so much garbage everywhere. Did you not take a drive around before posting this? It’s ok the city will have another cleanup next year. Iqaluit is a garbage dump? It’s embarrassing when visitors are here. The city should start some programs and create some employment to have the garbage cleaned up. It will take the whole summer to clean it up. They should also start charging people with dirty properties according to the bylaw.