If you have 20 minutes to spare for civic pride, be sure to use them on 2 p.m. Friday, April 23 for Toronto's 20-Minute Makeover.
"Torontonians show each and every day how much they care about the environment, creating greener, more sustainable, safer neighbourhoods," Mayor David Miller said Thursday in announcing the annual event.
"We all agree that littering is unacceptable. Yet despite our best efforts to provide waste disposal options, a small minority of people still choose to litter."
However, their actions are unfortunately all too visible -- and the cleanup allows people a chance to help correct the poor behaviour of others, he said.
The city has had its own cleanup campaign for the past three weeks, aided by the great weather Toronto has experienced. "Our staff have removed 2,400 tonnes of litter …," Miller said.
"Each day, in a given part of the city, a cleanup is taking place," he said, adding before-and-after photos can be seen on the city's website.
This year's seventh annual 20-Minute Makeover will be a GTA-wide event, with participation from Oakville, Mississauga, Vaughan, Richmond Hill, Markham, Pickering and Ajax.
On Saturday, April 24, Community Clean-up Day takes place, which is an opportunity for groups to clean up a neighbourhood park or public space.
"Both are ideal opportunities for us to put litter in its proper place," Miller said.
As Toronto's new street furniture rolls out, there will be 12,000 receptacles across the city for litter and recyclables. "And each receptacle has a special place for cigarette butts," Miller said.
Smokers now have no excuse to simply dump a cigarette butt on the streets of Toronto, he said.
More information is available at the City of Toronto's website.
