Spring Cleanup Underway Throughout City of Peterborough

With the melting snow uncovering litter in City parks and along streets and sidewalks, spring cleanup is underway throughout the City of Peterborough.

Photo by David Tuan Bui.

With the volume of litter, the City expects the cleanup effort to extend over the next few weeks.

Public Works will use street sweeping machines on routes throughout the City to clean the grit and dirt that accumulates on streets over the winter.

The City maintains 388 garbage bins spanning over 100 parks and along the City’s trail system year-round. In 2024, crews collected just over 333 tonnes of garbage from those receptacles, a 41 per cent increase over 2023 according to the City.

They also maintains 325 garbage bins along City streets and outside City buildings.

Last year, Public Works crews collected 80 tonnes of illegally dumped waste, this includes large items and garbage bags full of waste, five tonnes of litter that includes smaller items such as wrappers, bottles, and coffee cups. Clean Up Peterborough, a volunteer group which organized several litter clean-ups last year collected more than 50,000 cigarette butts from City streets, roads, trails and paths.

Litter composition was made up of:

• 34 per cent recyclables (bottles, bags, food packaging, etc.)

• 32 per cent cigarette butts or other smoking paraphernalia (vapes, etc.)

• 25 per cent organics (food waste)

• 5 per cent textiles (clothes, towels, etc.)

• 4 per cent hazardous waste (pet waste, sharp objects, etc.)

Litter can harm local wildlife and pollute waterways; accumulated litter can attract pests.

Residents are encouraged to do their part by disposing of waste in appropriate receptacles.

Crews regularly maintain the City’s 713 garbage receptacles; however, if a garbage receptacle is complete, residents can report it using its online reporting portal.

The City also implements a street sweeping program to protect the environment by removing pollutants from road surfaces and reducing urban runoff through the stormwater system to downstream water bodies. Street sweeping also improves the cleanliness and aesthetics of City streets and parking lots by removing residual salt and sand used during winter operations.

City street sweepers will clean all 958 lane km of roadway and all City-owned sidewalks, trails and parking lots between March and May once temperatures are continuously above freezing. Many areas receive a secondary sweep as required based on the amount of residue on the surface. The City says work typically takes seven weeks to complete, depending on weather conditions.

Each year, crews start street sweeping in a different area of the City. This year, crews are starting in the downtown core.

Residents are asked to keep streets clear to improve the overall effectiveness of the street-sweeping program. Residents can ensure sweeping equipment can reach the full street surface by removing sports nets, placing garbage and recycling containers on the lawn or driveway and not parking on the street.

When approaching street-sweeping vehicles, please proceed cautiously and allow plenty of room for safe operations.

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