Trash Bash '99 Focus on Littering, Illegal Dumping

The Nova Scotia Youth Conservation Corps today kicked off its Trash Bash '99 to increase awareness of littering and illegal dumping in the province.

Trash Bash '99 is part of Youth Corps Week (Aug. 14-21) in Nova Scotia, this year celebrating the 10th anniversary of youth corps activities.

"It is gratifying to see today's youth embracing environmental issues in this way," said Environment Minister Ron Russell. "This effort to raise attention around littering and illegal dumping is important to all Nova Scotians. These are careless acts for which there are no legitimate excuses."

Kate Greenaway is a youth corps team member who helped organize this year's Trash Bash. "It's amazing to me that with all of our knowledge in waste management that people still litter and dump illegally. But I know things are changing.

"Today's young people are taking responsibility for their actions and are working to protect, rather than destroy, their environment."

As part of today's Trash Bash kickoff at the Halifax waterfront, the Department of the Environment's solid waste resource manager spoke about what the department is doing to tackle the problem.

"We are working now on a strategy to address the litter and illegal dumping problem in Nova Scotia," said Barry Friesen. "This will include consulting with Nova Scotians over the next few months for a better understanding of the scope of this problem. The aim is to eliminate illegal dumping and littering, period."

The Nova Scotia Youth Conservation Corps is a summer employment project sponsored by the Nova Scotia Department of the Environment. This year, 172 young people are working on 40 community-based environmental projects across Nova Scotia. The youth corps' mandate is to give youth valuable and lasting environmental skills that benefit communities and the environment.

Today's Trash Bash kickoff highlights a week of activities by youth corps members across Nova Scotia. These include educational displays and activities to increase awareness of everyone's responsibility to prevent pollution.