Long before there was dumpster diving, there was ditch duty. And the ditches held more detritus than they seem to hold today.
Alberta residents, drivers and 4-H members take note that this Saturday, May 3, is the annual highway cleanup. The event was originally established 32 years ago as a fundraiser for 4-H clubs and scouts. It has evolved to include other clubs and community groups, but 4-H clubs are a mainstay.
The successful program is emulated in other provinces and has served the dual purpose of trash control and fundraising. In Alberta last year, 4,100 youngsters collected 27,000 bags of garbage from more than 4,600 kilometres of roadway, according to a government news release.
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Those are impressive statistics, though you have to wonder about the imbeciles who continue, in this age of recycling and environmentalism, to use highways for trash disposal. We will hazard a guess that anyone who has ever cleaned a ditch has developed an aversion to littering that will last until death.
Alumni of the early highway cleanups look with envy upon Alberta’s tidy ditches, picked clean yearly. In the first years of the program, people were more profligate with their litter and the ditches were peppered with years of accumulated tossage.
The event was held in all but the most inclement weather, and participants in windy southern Alberta quickly learned to target east-west highways, and then clean them from west to east. Trash in the face does not a happy 4-Her make.
Gloves and safety vests, now required accessories, were optional back then, and anyone without gloves developed great appreciation for their value.
It was surprising how many motorists back then took the word “disposable” literally when it came to disposable diapers. Equally surprising was the odour and insect life aboard those bundled ditch-pitches.
Those and the occasional dead skunk and porcupine made the highway cleaner-uppers occasionally question the value of the $10 per km offered. Today, clubs can earn $100 per km for cleaning areas near cities or larger towns and $55 for rights-of-way elsewhere.
The thought of $10 per km didn’t soothe a member of our 4-H club years ago. He found a balloon while cleaning the ditch, blew it up and waved it around. Its white opacity, rubbery texture and reservoir tip soon caught the attention of 4-H leaders and passing motorists. The balloon was quickly dispatched to a trash bag.
Well, enough of the trash talk. 4-H members, we salute in advance your work to keep the province clean. Wear your vest, wear your gloves and be careful out there.
