Groups work to remove cigarette butts, litter from Sudbury's Junction Creek
Now that spring is here, there’s a whole lot of litter and garbage visible, which had been partially buried under the snow during the winter.
In Sudbury, a weekend cleanup blitz is happening along Sudbury’s Junction Creek -- and there’s one particular piece of litter that has volunteers lit up to pick up.
According to environmentalist Emma Meadows, cigarette butts are particularly harmful.
“They’re all over the place,” Meadows said.
“There’s about 4.5 trillion that are littering the environment globally.”
Meadows is with the cigarette butts reduction program, Small Butts, Big Problem, which is supported by the global conservation organization Ocean Wise.
“(Cigarette butts) are actually made of plastics,” she said.
In Sudbury, a weekend cleanup blitz is happening along Sudbury’s Junction Creek -- and there’s one particular piece of litter that has volunteers lit up to pick up: cigarette butts. (Photo from video)
“They’re a form of plastics pollution and when people just litter them on the ground, they release chemicals and toxins and micro-plastics that end up in our waterways. They get eaten by wildlife and then eventually they make their way into humans.”
Meadows is working alongside the Junction Creek stewardship committee to reduce the plastic harming local waterways.
The committee conducted a storm-water initiative during the past two years where filters were installed on 34 catch basins in six Sudbury neighbourhoods.
The group said the project prevented almost 5,000 pieces of litter from entering the storm system -- and cigarette butts made up 40 per cent of that.
“The Earth is not our personal garbage can,” Meadows said.
“If we take care of the earth it will take care of us. So let’s put waste in its place and definitely not in the environment.”
The cleanup starts on Saturday at 1 p.m. in the parking lot behind the Flour Mill silos.
Small Butts, Big Problems will be handing out free small reusable pocket ashtrays for all volunteers helping at Saturday’s cleanup.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
![](https://www.ctvnews.ca/polopoly_fs/1.6976926.1721883767!/httpImage/image.png_gen/derivatives/landscape_800/image.png)
DEVELOPING Alberta's request for federal assistance approved after fast-moving wildfire hit Jasper National Park: Trudeau
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced on social media that Ottawa has approved Alberta's request for federal assistance after a fast-moving wildfire hit Jasper National Park and its townsite late Wednesday.
Sale of envoy's NYC condo 'expected to exceed' $9M: government
The current official residence for Canada's representative in New York City is 'being readied for sale,' according to a spokesperson from Global Affairs Canada.
'Sick to my stomach': People grieve Jasper National Park by sharing favourite photos
As an out-of-control wildfire roared through Alberta’s famed Jasper National Park and its townsite late Wednesday, many are fearing the worst as officials warned of 'significant loss' within the area.
'I'm so broke': Two Toronto women speak out after losing $76,000 in romance scam
Two women from the Toronto area are speaking out after losing thousands of dollars to a romance scam, including a single mother who lost $62,000.
Barrie-Innisfil MPP 'blacked-out' and crashed car into window of child care centre
Staff at a Barrie child care centre say they are frustrated by what they call a local MPP's inadequate response after a car crashed through a window in one of the toddler rooms.
Loblaw, George Weston to settle class action over bread price-fixing for $500 million
Loblaw Cos. Ltd. and its parent company George Weston Ltd. say they have agreed to pay $500-million to settle a class-action lawsuit regarding their involvement in an alleged bread price-fixing scheme.
EXCLUSIVE One address, 76 foreign currency dealers: Inside Canada's money service business 'clusters'
An IJF and CTV News investigation has found dozens of cases across Canada where multiple money services businesses (MSBs) are incorporated at the same address, sometimes without the knowledge or consent of the location's actual occupant. One money laundering expert calls it an 'abuse of the system.'
A slight temperature drop makes Tuesday the world's second-hottest day
Global temperatures dropped a minuscule amount after two days of record highs, making Tuesday only the world's second-hottest day ever.
U.K. police officer suspended after video appears to show a man being kicked in head
A British police officer was suspended from all duties Thursday after a video was posted on social media that appeared to show an officer kicking and stamping on the head of a man lying on the floor of a terminal at Manchester Airport.