The Squamish Lillooet Regional District is issuing its member municipalities a friendly 20-minute challenge when it comes to litter.
It’s part of the region’s effort for Pitch-In Week April 17 to 23.
Usually, the regional district board does the 20-minute makeover challenge with SLRD staff, but this year the regular meetings fall in a different week than Pitch-In, so the board is encouraging all the local governments to take part in their home communities.
“We’re still asking the municipalities to participate in any way they can,” said Brooke Carere, SLRD communications coordinator for solid waste and resource management.
“Unfortunately, it’s … probably too much to ask everyone to come to Pemberton because they’ll be here the following week for the board meeting.”
The regional district is challenging the local governments to do a 20-minute makeover on Thursday, April 21 and send photographs, which it will post on Facebook and its website.
Regional district staff, Carere says, has been taking part in the effort the last few years on lunch breaks, and she hopes more will follow.
“You go out with your team and pick up little and recyclables and just pitch in to do your part for your community,” she said. “It’s fun and it gets everyone outside for a bit.”
Pitch-In is a national initiative and has been around since 1967, making it one of the older environmentally themed events. It is also usually timed to happen around Earth Day.
“Pitch-In has been a long-time running, Canada-wide event,” Carere said.
The Pitch-In event also fits in well with the SLRD’s plan to reduce waste in general.
“It’s just more about the environmental awareness of keeping our communities clean and get people out there thinking about it,” she said.
Carere would like to see the challenge to the local governments become an annual tradition.
“This is the first year we’ve challenged each other to it in this way. Hopefully, this can become part of the annual push to have a friendly rivalry.”
In Squamish, the district has been taking part in Pitch-In for the last several years, says Dora Gunn, the District of Squamish sustainability coordinator. Staff typically goes out to clean up around all of its buildings.
“Honestly, the big event for us is the community part of it,” she added.
Gunn encourages groups and businesses to register with the district, which provides them with supplies and a letter to waive their tipping fees at the landfill.
“They can go out and clean up an area of their choice and bring the materials to the landfill for free,” she said.
She also encouraged people to do 20-minute makeovers on the Thursday at lunch by cleaning up outside their homes or businesses.
Last year, the district had 850 people sign up to participate, including school groups. “We have a bunch of schools that participate year after year,” she said.
The SLRD has information about Pitch-In on Facebook as well as its website page under “news and events,” while Squamish residents can register on the district website at squamish.ca.
