Councillor calls for a summit to bring community together for a litter-free Brampton

Brampton, June 8, 2023 – At the committee of Council meeting on June 7th, Brampton Council approved a motion emphasizing the need for a united effort in creating a clean and litter-free city. A “Litter-Free Brampton” summit that brings community groups, residents, and businesses together to plan for a litter-free Brampton is being organized as a result of the discussion and motion.

“Over the years we have seen an unfortunate noticeable increase in litter within public and private spaces across the city which has negatively impacted our quality of life,” says Santos. “I have personally participated in numerous clean-ups organized by the City, Conservation Authorities, and groups like People Against Littering (P.A.L.’s), but we must work together to do more. Keeping our city litter-free is everyone’s responsibility.”

Delegates on the topic included Angelina Carrara, a resident and Bill Godfrey of P.A.L.’s, both presented different examples and ideas to address the issue. Angelina presented “Let’s bring the Flower and Green Space back into the City of Brampton with Education, Enforcement and Financial Impact” and emphasized “private property standards.” Santos applauded the thought and effort put into her delegation.

Bill delegated on behalf of P.A.L.’s, sharing their inspiring idea to encourage everyone in Brampton to pick up 5 pieces of litter a month, and emphasized the need to take a grassroots, community approach for a Litter-Free Brampton.

During the discussion Santos emphasized that the root causes must also be addressed. “The majority of garbage I have picked-up are cups, plastic bottles, food containers or wrapping and it’s everywhere. We need businesses who produce this garbage to be part of the solution.”

Santos shared further that “It is clear from the variety of ideas coming from the delegations and discussion that we need to bring residents, organizations, stakeholders, businesses together to capture all of the energy and ideas to make Brampton Litter-Free.”  

Santos added a friendly amendment to the motion specifically calling for a meeting or “Summit” to engage community groups like People Against Littering (P.A.L.’s), the Brampton Environmental Alliance, Peel Community Climate Council, BIA, TRCA, CVC, Ontario Ministry of Transportation, sports organizations, places of worship, and businesses. “We cannot operate in silos on this issue. We need to bring everyone together to share their perspectives and different ideas.”

The summit aims to assess existing processes, identify gaps in maintaining a clean city, and foster collaboration among community groups, businesses, environmental organizations, and government entities. Together, they will explore innovative strategies and leverage the collective power of volunteers to transform Brampton into a litter-free city.

This motion aligns with ongoing efforts to beautify neighborhoods, enhance rental licensing and property standards enforcement, and promote community engagement through the activation of resident associations. By actively involving residents and stakeholders, Brampton is determined to become Canada’s first litter-free city. Progress toward this goal, incorporating input from participating groups, will be reported back to  Council in the fourth quarter of this year.

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