Melting snow reveals seasonal litter problem around Nova Scotia

Vanishing snow and ice are revealing garbage on the ground across the Maritimes.

Rose Evans likes to walk her dog along the Bedford, N.S., waterfront year-round. The arrival of warm weather is welcome, but she said melting snow means more trash.

“After the winter when the snow goes away then you start to see more stuff uncovered,” said Evans. “Like just over there on the bench there’s a pop bottle left there.”

Evans said she picks up after her dog and throws her coffee cups in the garbage along the trails, but others don’t always do the same.

“I see a lot of garbage that’s not being picked up, cups are thrown around, there’s plastic bags when there is no need of it, take your garbage home with you,” said Evans

Angela Riley is the founder of Scotian Shores - a volunteer group committed to cleaning Nova Scotia’s shoreline. She said the type of trash varies with the coastal landscape but the Bay of Fundy acts like the world’s biggest vacuum cleaner, sucking in debris.

“The world’s highest tides and then you couple that with winter storms and the winds and it just all blows to Nova Scotia,” said Riley.

Scotian Shores focus on the coast but they clean up inland spaces as well. This year they removed nearly 40 thousand pounds of debris with hundreds of cleanups still to come.

Rob Williams walks the Bedford waterfront every day. He said he’s noticed plastic stuck in bushes along the trail.

“If you walk further along where there are bushes and it’s overgrown that’s where you tend to see a lot of buildup and it’s year after year,” said Williams.

Janet Barlow is the executive director of Hike Nova Scotia said the problem isn’t in the wooded areas but tends to be along the more populated paths.

“It’s normally on trails closer to town where you get a lot of people walking, a lot of different users and that’s where you are going to start to see a lot of the litter,” said Barlow.

There appears to be more litter on the trails in the Spring because it has been covered by the snow all winter said Barlow.

“In summer and fall there are more eyes on the street or eyes on the trail if you will, and people may be a little less likely to do things like litter when there are lots of other people around,” he said.

Cleanup efforts are welcome, but Evans said there is no excuse for the mess.

“Pick up your garbage or take it home with you, either way don’t leave it on the road.”

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