Local municipalities vie for ‘clean sweep’ in 10th anniversary of competition to ‘Keep the County Clean’

“Our staff, residents and businesses really do continue to rally around this event; we have achieved tremendous success together over the last nine challenges,” states County Director of Transportation, Waste & Facilities
Mobushar Pannu. “Since it was first launched in 2009, more than 18,200
volunteers have collected the equivalent of over 30,100 bags of garbage from our recreation areas and roadsides. The impact has been substantial. We are really excited to see the familiar faces of so many of our returning volunteers, and hope to see lots of new faces in the mix as well this year.”

Volunteers  will  be  out  in  droves  to beautify Northumberland from April 22 to 28 as part of this year’s challenge. Local municipalities—vying for bragging rights by winning at least one of the two possible awards in this friendly county-wide competition—are encouraging all residents to join in this week of
activities. The Township of Alnwick/Haldimand will be looking to retain the title of Highest Volunteer Participation while the Municipality of Port Hope hopes to keep the trophy for Hardest Working Volunteers per capita.

For the Challenge, which coincides with this year’s ‘Pitch In, Canada’,
individuals and groups are invited to demonstrate community spirit by
registering with their municipality to clean-up a public area (park, nature-trail, roadside, etc). Those interested are encouraged to visit the County website for contact details specific to each municipality.

Residents can also choose to participate in ‘The 20 Minute Makeover’, joining in solidarity with people across the County at noon on Friday, April 27, by
spending 20 minutes beautifying the area around their home or place of work. If noon is not a good time, any time will do.

To  close out  this week of  collaboration and community pride, the County will be hosting its annual community-wide appreciation barbecue and Open House at the Material Recovery Facility in Grafton on Saturday, April 28, from 11:00 a.m. until 2:00 p.m. This event will include guided tours of the facility, large vehicles for children to explore, door prizes and other activities.
Registration for this event is not required.

For more information about the Mayors’ ‘Keep the County Clean’ Challenge, including registration information and details about the barbecue and Open House at the Material Recovery Facility, visit the County website at www.NorthumberlandCounty.ca/littercleanup.