While we were driving through Red Deer earlier this week, my four-year-old son asked, “Why is there so much garbage and why are there so many coffee cups on the side of the road?”
I explained that it’s because the snow melted. He said, “no, but who put it there”? I told him people did.
He asked, “why don’t they put their garbage in the garbage can?”
"Good question," I said.
“They are bad people,” he said.
I said, "yes, you’re right."
"Are the people going to jail?” he asked.
"No," I said.
“Can we clean it up?" he asked
So on Friday afternoon, March 29, we took gloves, a garbage bag and the quad around the rural area where we live.
We tried to pick up as much garbage and recycling as we could.
Shockingly, the bag was full not even halfway around the block.
What is even more shocking is that out of the 98 beverage containers we collected (and note this: on the side of the road), 82 of them were alcoholic beverage containers. That is a whopping 84 per cent.
Needless to say, this was a great learning experience for us. Plus, someone will have an extra $9.75 in his piggy bank for working hard once we bring this bag to the bottle depot next week. #dontdrinkanddrive#throwyourgarbageinthegarbage #roadsidecleanup #trashtagchallenge
Helen Van De Wassenberg,
Rural Olds
