The City of Airdrie is gearing up for a community cleaning initiative on May 16 in order to provide residents with opportunities to recycle common household items.
Mara Pratt, representative with Airdrie Waste and Recycling Services, said the event is an important initiative for the community.
“The big thing for us is to divert as much as we possibly can (from the landfill),” she said. “We want to try to be more responsible to the environment and take advantage of the opportunities.”
The City has partnered with London Drugs for the event, which it will be hosting from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m. at its location near Main Street. Residents are encouraged to sort through their unwanted items and bring them to the London Drugs parking lot.
Airdrie Supersave will once again be providing free paper shredding at the event. After residents have dropped off their items, they can stay for a fundraising barbecue hosted by local animal rescue, Bail Us Out.
Pratt said she hoped the event would help promote environmental awareness in the city.
“I think it’s something that we need to do,” she said. “We need to divert as much as we can and take part in the ability to divert.”
The cleanup comes while residential street sweeping is underway in the community. Airdrie Roads Team Leader Mike Avramenko said residents should keep an eye out for distinctive orange signs.
“As an added public awareness this year, we have some small sandwich boards that we’ll place in the community,” he said. “The big orange signs that we’re concerned about, those are our temporary no parking signs, they have to be placed 48 hours in advance.”
“If you’re on (those roads), you’ll be towed to an area already swept,” he said.
Last year, the City towed 269 cars that were not moved from marked locations.
“We have a numbered system that shows where we are going to go next, so we don’t get too far out in projected dates,” Avramenko said. “The only thing that will affect progress is rain. If it gets too wet, we have to shut down.”
“Everything is going fairly good so far, so we’re anticipating the first week of June we should be (finished).”
Street sweeping got underway April 28. Residents can keep updated on what areas will be swept next on Twitter @City_of_Airdrie and at airdrie.ca
