Cornwall spring clean-up

My neighbours always seem to know when it is garbage collection following a holiday. I generally do. There are, however, certain times when I am not quite sure. And it is times like that when I consult the City of Cornwall website. see: http://www.cornwall.ca/main.cfm). To my pleasant surprise, I often discover useful information I hadn’t anticipated.

One of the many things I learned recently is that waste and blue/black box recycled materials should only be placed on the curb from 7:00 p.m. the night before to 7:00 a.m. on the day of collection. I’m not sure how well the information is known to the public else why would there be garbage in front of certain homes on my street, a full day prior to collection? This might not seem to pose a problem during the cold weather. Now that the warmer season is upon us—as are scavenging critters, crows and gulls—it will be important to pay closer attention to garbage pick-up times for health and sanitary reasons. By respecting regulations, we will also demonstrate more kindness toward our neighbours and toward our environment.

Speaking of milder weather, many of us will finally take steps to dispose of all those unused items in our basements. A garage sale is a consideration. There are also various thrift shops in the city which accept useable items. But, it is just plain common sense that some things simply need to be thrown into the garbage. If it is an item that is broken or doesn’t work or you would never consider keeping it in your home, then chances are no one else would want it either.

Do note that certain items will be picked up only with a collection permit purchased from the City Taxation Department! These include ‘white goods’ such as stoves, washers, dryers, freezers, dishwashers, furnaces, hot water tanks etc. On the other hand, household hazardous wastes such as paint, turpentine, cleaning fluids, medication, computer equipment, fluorescent light bulbs (including curly ones) and vehicle batteries may be taken on designated dates to the Landfill Site, located at 2590 Cornwall Centre Rd. W. (613 933-6953).

You may not be aware that the City of Cornwall has designated Saturday, April 25 as spring Clean-Up Day: “Cornwall residents and companies will be urged to spend the day cleaning up the community.” Hopefully everyone will take the time to pick up all those nasty bits hidden under the snow through the winter months. Daily I find materials on my lawn hurled from automobiles and passersby. Coffee cups, soft drink cans and candy wrappers are the most common. (I will restrain from mentioning doggy-do, quite another matter entirely.) Some waste has gotten entangled in the decomposed leaves protecting the base of my shrubs and trees. It will be a job removing the lot. I am grateful that a special collection of leaf and yard waste will take place this spring over a four-week period from April 20 to May 15.

During my travels, what I cannot help but observe is how well maintained some cities are while others are not. I think we all want our city to be remembered by visitors—from a positive perspective. Our vision for Cornwall needs to include pride in how each of us keeps our neighbourhood clean and uncluttered.