Mayor Nenshi leads clean up of downtown park to launch 20-Minute Makeover

Mayor Naheed Nenshi officially kicked off the 20-Minute Makeover campaign by leading more than 100 volunteers in a cleanup of cigarette butts and other small litter left at Century Park downtown, Wednesday.

 

“Stopping to take just 20 minutes to clean it up, whether it’s part of this campaign or at any time of year, helps keep the city clean and shows how much we all care about our community, “ said Mayor Nenshi. “It’s easy to take a moment and pick up some of the litter that can collect in our public spaces.  As we work to create a more vibrant community for all Calgarians, we hope our fellow citizens will be less inclined to litter in the first place.” 

 

More than 2,800 Calgarians have signed up to spend 20 minutes cleaning over 240 locations across the city today through Saturday. This includes 11 schools, 12 local companies, 17 community groups and more than 200 individuals and family members.

 

The youngest volunteer is just seven years old. One neighbour in Discovery Ridge put out the call and had 60 neighbours join in for a clean-up of a favourite neighbourhood green space.

 

Calgarians are encouraged to post their clean up location at Calgary.ca/20minutemakeover.

 

If just one in four Calgarians takes part, it will mean an investment of 5,000,000 minutes or 83,333 hours or 2,222 work days cleaning up our city.

 

It provides citizens an opportunity to join together with neighbours, friends and family and tidy up a piece of their own community or workplace.

 

“When we enforce the Community Standards Bylaw we always encourage voluntary compliance through collaboration with neighbours,” said Bill Bruce, Director of Animal & Bylaw Services. “This is an excellent opportunity to get to know your neighbours and find out what standards of cleanliness you share and bring your community up to that level.”

 

However, Calgarians are warned against picking up hazardous materials such as syringes and broken glass.

 

Always be aware of your surroundings and ensure proper safety precautions are taken such as wearing gloves and staying in public spaces. Please report any graffiti or hazardous materials found by calling 311. Any act of graffiti witnessed in action should be reported through 911.

 

Also, if you live near a wetland area and see trash left there, please don’t clean it up, report it to 3-1-1 so a Parks crew can take care of it.

 

For groups of 20 or more, garbage bags will be supplied by GLAD Canada. Garbage bags can also be picked up from your local branch of the Calgary Public Library and Animal & Bylaw Services.

 

GLAD has been partnering with Canadian cities to conduct community clean ups since 2010.

 

“Our goal as a company is to promote social and environmental responsibility,” said Mark Malo, General Manager of GLAD Canada. “We want to give back by partnering with Canadian cities and communities to help keep them clean and beautiful.”

 

Onward/ Picking up garbage and discarded items shows that citizens care about their community.| imagineCALGARY target: By 2036, 90 per cent of citizens report that Calgary is a beautiful city.

 

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