- Anne Finlay-Stewart, Editor

The Owen Sound Waste Watchers will be out on April 20 to raise awareness of the impact of single-use waste on Owen Sound, local waterways and our world - one coffee cup and cigarette butt at a time. Two events are scheduled for the day - a trash pick up and a "Talkin' Trash Social".

Meredith MacFarlane, a Grade 12 student at St. Mary’s High School, will help lead the trash pick-up event on Owen Sound's east harbour.  Merdith's own interest in the environment has grown with her own life experiences. She became a vegan at 15, after learning about the impact of animal agriculture in a geography class. Working in a grocery store, she saw enormous daily waste first hand.

On April 1, Meredith made a presentation to Owen Sound City Council to inform them of the April 20th events, and invited Mayor Ian Boddy and all Councillors to join the group at one or both. “Reducing single use plastic and toxic waste is important to me because it is my, and future, generations who will have to deal with the consequences," she said in her presentation.

After the April 20 events, Meredith plans to report back to city council with the results , and hopes it will raise awareness and inspire conversations about further actions.  When she goes off to Western to study Sociology in the fall, she expects the next cohort of high school students will continue the work.

Last fall a group of 15 concerned citizens organized a trash pick-up along Owen Sound's east harbour wall. In a few hours they had gathered 2,430 cigarette butts, 81 lbs of garbage and 28 lbs of recyclable material. The cigarettes were recycled through Terracycle, Inc, and recyclables and garbage were delivered to the Miller Waste Transfer Station.

The group learned more about the toxic impact of waste, especially discarded cigarette butts which are the most littered item in the world. In 2017, the World Health Organization (WHO) issued a report about the impact of the tobacco industry on both health and the environment. “Tossing a cigarette butt on the ground has since become one of the most accepted forms of littering globally and borders on a social norm for many smokers”, the WHO said in its report, adding that around 680 million kilograms of tobacco waste litters the world each year.

The 2018 trash pick-up experience opened the eyes of many in the group and changed the way they operate in their personal lives. “I’m not a smoker but for me, it started with no take-out containers, moved to no straws, then to giving bamboo cutlery as Christmas gifts. It’s now moved to adjusting my food list to non-plastic-wrapped items and bringing my own bags to the store,” said Laura Wood, Owen Sound Waste Watcher community group facilitator.

Rochelle Byrne from A Greener Future is joining the April 20 events and will speak at the “Talkin’ Trash Social” at the Frog Ponds Café from 4:00pm to 6:00pm. Executive Director & Founder, Rochelle and her team work hand-in-hand with local communities to promote environmental preservation through organized litter cleanups, educational programs, and events. A Greener Future recently participated in the Green Living Show in Toronto, and is working with the City of Hamilton on the 5th Annual Butt Blitz scheduled for April 27, 2019.

“I’m especially pleased to be coming to beautiful Owen Sound to work with local citizens in reducing the toxic impact of waste near the harbour. I know we will learn from each other at the social event following the pick-up.”

People interested in participating in the 1:00pm to 3:00pm east harbour litter pick-up can register at www.agreenerfuture/events or show up at the north side of the Grey Bruce Health Unit in Owen Sound. 

For more information about the 4:00pm to 6:00pm Talkin’ Trash Social, visit the Owen Sound Waste Watchers event page on Facebook or email [email protected]. Entrance is by Pay What You Can donation and all are welcome.