Cobourg invites participants in annual Mayors' Keep the County Clean Challenge

Litter. By John Cameron. Free Use Domain, Upsplash

By Cecilia Nasmith, Northumberland 89.7 FM News

Cobourg

The Town of Cobourg invites all community members to participate in the 15th annual Mayors' Keep the County Clean Challenge, taking place April 21 to 26.

The first step is to register with the Town of Cobourg to be help clean up litter in their neighbourhood (including roadsides, parks and trails).

The “challenge” part comes in with the participation trophies that will be awarded at a future Northumberland County council meeting for municipalities with the highest proportional representation of volunteers and the most litter collected per volunteer.

In 2024, more than 3,000 Northumberland community members collected 11,427 kg. of litter during this competition, which was the highest turnout in the history of the event.

To be part of the team, register online at www.Cobourg.ca/cleanup and select the location where you'd like to collect. Full bags of litter may be left at roadside in your clean-up for later collection by town staff – just log back onto the webpage afterwards to report where you left bags for pick-up.

Please remember that large, hazardous or dangerous items are not to be touched. In such a case, please report back to the town and qualified staff will come to collect it appropriately.

Supplies (including gloves and garbage bags) can be picked up between April 14 and 26 from the Cobourg Community Centre (750 D'Arcy St.) at the main reception desk between 8 a.m. and 7 p.m.

Also back this year – the Mayor's Cigarette Butt Clean-up to tackle the many cigarette butts left along the waterfront and downtown core. Join Mayor Lucas Cleveland on Saturday, April 26, at 103 Third St. at 10 a.m. to get the necessary supplies. Due to the nature of the material collected, this event is recommended for volunteers aged 19 and older.

The Town of Cobourg thanks all these volunteers in advance for their help.