Vaughan’s Operation Litter Ridder gets people out in rain to purge streets of trash

Earth Day clean up a success with some help from local company

Yorkregion.com
May 8, 2023
Brian Capitao

A group of good Samaritans led the charge for Earth Day 2023 litter pickup in Vaughan.

Operation Litter Ridder, a local Vaughan company that manufacturers knapsacks that helps collect garbage came with a cleanup crew on Saturday, April 22, at Milani Field.

The group consisted of about 30 volunteers including Scouts and high school students looking to complete their community hours, in collaboration with the Operation Litter Ridder team and picked up a total 1056 lb. of litter.

“We are beyond proud of our volunteers coming out despite the rain and still managing to collect over a thousand lb. of litter,” said Operation Litter Ridder co-founder, Kathryn Leinster.

“Even we didn’t realize the magnitude of the problem there. Imagine the amount we could have collected out of the environment with more volunteers,” added Leinster.

The team ambitiously planned to clean up about 10 km of road from Langstaff Road to Zenway Blvd. However, due to the rain, they had to adjust their expectations. Instead, focusing on cleaning near their camp at 8110 Hwy. 27 Milani field.

On the strength of the success of the event, Operation Litter Ridder will be hosting weekly pop-ups throughout the summer and hosting a World Cleanup Day on Sept. 16.