As part of the City of Ottawa’s Cleaning Up the Capital program, several members of Rotary Club Ottawa South spent a Saturday morning picking up trash along Rotary Way and Bank Street by the Ottawa Rotary Home.
Rotary Home provides respite programs for both adults and children. An initiative of Rotary Club Ottawa, the Ottawa Rotary Home first opened its doors in 1982. It expanded with a second facility in 2009 – a state-of-the-art, 21-bed respite home just south of Leitrim Road. In honour of Rotarians and the exceptional service that the home offers, the street it is situated on was renamed Rotary Way in 2012.
Many clubs, organizations and groups of citizens participate in the Cleaning Up the Capital project. It’s an opportunity to act environmentally consciously, exercise one’s civic pride and help Ottawa to look its best. Rotary Club Ottawa South has been pitching in and picking up for many years, specifically around the Bank Street and Rotary Way intersection.
It’s unfortunate that roadside cleaning programs are necessary. Hopefully, greater awareness of the impact of a casual approach to environmental stewardship will convince more people to pollute less. There has been a reduction in the amount of trash that we pick up annually, so here’s hoping.
Interestingly, the trash collected reflects the times, to a degree. Face masks and disposable gloves were common this year, but not nearly as numerous as the past couple years, and of course, they were a rarity pre-2020. Cigarette butts have declined over the years, which is a good thing – though we still pick up thousands of them. And, people continue to consider their health by buying bottled water, however if they considered the planet’s health they would bring a refillable water bottle from home, and not discard empty plastic bottles on the street.
Despite the disappointment in the need for cleaning up the streets, RCOS members felt good about doing it and had a lot of fun working and socializing together. Many thanks to those who helped out: Jeff Sirrs, Lisa Barleben and her son Dante, Ian Schwartz, Vik Chawla, Kateri Clark, Sean Gerber and Scott Vetter.
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