Former Windsor West NDP MP and community activist, Brian Masse, is raising the alarm over the amount of litter he's seeing across the city.
Masse took to social media posting pictures of litter scattered across Festival Plaza and nearby riverfront following a weekend event. The area has since been cleaned up by the organizers of the event, according to Ward 3 councillor Renaldo Agostino.
However, Masse told AM800's The Shift with Patty Handysides that this issue isn't just from special events...
"Just in general, you go around the city and you'll see garbage all over the place, and it doesn't make any sense, especially since we have to pay for that to pick it up, and on top of that it's a serious issue in the sense that some of the garbage, like cigarette butts, and think of all the chemicals that are in a cigarette butt, they go into our sewer system, that then go into the lakes," Masse said.
Masse says there needs to be consequences for those who litter.
"You'd see that at provincial park, or a federal park, if you're walking down a beautiful trail and you just throw your junk away, but meanwhile you can do that in the middle of a city or a street or in the neighbourhood, and I don't understand that logic," he said.
Masse says people who litter need to think about the long term effects.
"You wouldn't want your kids to be drinking water that's had cigarettes and other plastics, and stuff like that, soaking in it, well that's what happens when we let it go into our tributary systems and so forth, is that it basically gets slogged in with everything else there," Masse said.
A statement provided by the City of Windsor says: "The City of Windsor's Environmental Services Department is actively working to reduce litter through a variety of initiatives. One of our newest efforts includes the deployment of the Glutton Sidewalk Cleaner in partnership with the Downtown Windsor Business Improvement Association (DWBIA), helping to keep high-traffic areas clean and welcoming.
Across the city, 600 litter bins are maintained along public rights-of-way. These bins are emptied at least once a week, with increased servicing in busy areas like the DWBIA and other Business Improvement Areas, where collections occur multiple times per week to ensure they remain available for public use.
Residents are encouraged to contact 311 to report concerns about litter in the city so that the issue can be addressed promptly."