County Trash Bash

County-wide clean-up in memory of Owen Jones

Almost anyone who has passed through Picton in the last few years would have noticed a gentleman diligently cleaning debris or picking up litter on Main Street. Equipped only with a couple of plastic bags and a discarded Tim Hortons coffee cup that he used as a scoop, Owen Jones did way more than his part to keep the town beautiful. Sadly, Owen passed away last Christmas Day, but his legacy will live on as this year’s County Trash Bash on April 23 will be held in his memory and will be known as the Owen Jones Memorial Clean Up Day.

The early days of spring sees the disappearance of snow and ice from roadside ditches, and with the vegetation yet to grow back it also reveals the accumulation of litter windblown through the winter season. Some of that litter may be tossed by weather from blue boxes, but possibly an equivalent may have been tossed from car windows by folks who ought to know better. And there is a distinct amount that is simply dumped—how else to explain a pile of soiled disposable diapers? There are the ubiquitous beverage cups with the fast food companies’ logos readily visible, soft drink cans, food containers and—new over the past two years—disposable face masks. Because the litter is so readily visible, this makes it a good time for the community clean-up known as Trash Bash. Held close to Earth Day each year, it’s a time that civic-minded residents venture out and pick up the accumulated trash from the roadsides.

In previous years the event was a little on the ad hoc side, with people or groups selecting a stretch of roadway that they would clean up. This year, however, Evan Nash and a couple of friends worked together to create an online signup form to keep track of the various locations. Nash had been the informal coordinator for the clean-up in the Wellington area for the past few years, with his pickup truck at the ready to carry the collected garbage to the local waste transfer site. “Particularly in the last two years, it was a nice thing that people could go out and be socially distanced and feel like you were helping out your community and beautifying some things and finding a way to have some community togetherness in a disconnected world,” he says.

“Each year it’s gotten a little bigger, and now we are up to over 300 people signed up, and there are four bin locations across the County. The more people that pitch in, the easier it gets and the more gets done.”

The County is providing the bins for the collected garbage, and residents who register for the Trash Bash can pick up gloves and garbage bags at Wellington and Picton Home Hardware. The bins will be in place from the afternoon of Friday, April 22 until the following Monday morning. “Common-sense safety protocols apply,” says Nash. “Keep an eye on traffic and wear something brightly coloured. Wear good thick boots, some decent gloves and dress for the weather. If you run across something that’s clearly a dumping site or anything hazardous, call the County and they will send out a proper team to deal with that.” Nash adds that Owen Jones is a prime example of the difference that one person can make. “A single community member can make a huge difference in keeping the community clean, and if we all get together we should be able to do ten-fold that. It’s an opportunity for us to pay a little homage to Owen, and to think about the fact that everybody can make a difference.”

To register for the Trash Bash, please call Wellington Home Hardware at 613.399.3203, or go online to forms.gle/3HCMMvL9fFqho3DYA.