Toronto – Deputy Mayor Jennifer McKelvie (Scarborough-Rouge Park) announced plans for the City of Toronto’s 2023 Clean Toronto Together campaign and encouraged residents, schools, businesses and community groups to take part in the annual spring cleanup from Friday, April 21 to Sunday, April 23.
On April 21, Toronto schools and businesses can participate by cleaning around their properties. On Earth Day, Saturday, April 22, and April 23, residents are encouraged to host community cleanups to remove litter from public spaces such as parks, ravines, sidewalks, laneways and beaches.
Participants are asked to register their cleanups online at www.toronto.ca/cleantoronto by Wednesday, April 19. Registration helps the City arrange special litter pickups, avoid duplicate cleanups and measure results.
Now in its 18th year, Clean Toronto Together is Canada’s largest municipal spring cleanup program. Over a four-week period prior to the community cleanups in April, the City deploys more than 200 pieces of equipment, including litter vacuums, sweepers, front-end loaders, dump trucks, sidewalk sweepers and power washers to remove dirt, debris and graffiti from streets, parks and watercourses.
Some of the City’s spring cleanup activities include:
- Illegal dumping cleanup
- Boulevard and laneway cleaning
- Litter and debris removal in parks
- Fence-line litter clearing
- Bicycle lane infrastructure maintenance
- Pothole blitzes
- Street sweeping to clean up dirt and debris from Toronto’s streets
The public can do their part to help keep Toronto clean and safe all year round by properly disposing of items in the available City street and park bins and not on the ground. The public can also report litter hot spots or overflowing bins to 311 at www.toronto.ca/311 or by calling 3-1-1.
Learn more about the many City programs that support waste reduction, reuse and the move towards a circular economy on the Waste Strategy Programs & Initiatives webpage.
More information about spring cleaning and ongoing Litter Operations in Toronto is available in the Spring cleaning and ongoing City of Toronto Litter Operations fact sheet.
More information about Clean Toronto Together is available on the City’s website at www.livegreentoronto.ca.
“Clean Toronto Together is an excellent example of what we can accomplish when we all work together. I encourage all Torontonians to participate in the spring cleanup and to help keep our parks, trails and ravines free of litter every day by putting litter in its proper place.” – Deputy Mayor Jennifer McKelvie (Scarborough-Rouge Park), Chair of the Infrastructure and Environment Committee
“Toronto’s parks and public spaces are vital to our great city. They are good for the environment, promote better physical and mental health, and create a sense of community for all. I encourage Toronto residents to take a few minutes to help cleanup a favourite spot in their neighbourhood and to keep our parks and public spaces clean and green all year long.”
– Councillor Mike Colle (Eglinton-Lawrence), Vice-chair of the Infrastructure and Environment Committee.