Boston Mills Road residents team up to pick up trash

May 5, 2022 · 0 Comments

Group of Caledon hikers are tired of the amount of littering on their road

By Zachary Roman

Caledon residents tired of the amount of litter on the side of the road they live on are taking matters into their own hands.

The residents, who all live close to each other on Boston Mills Road, call themselves the “Boston Millers.” Janice Reed is one such resident and explained to The Citizen why she and her neighbours decided to undertake their cleaning mission.

Reed said she and her neighbours have been picking up trash on the side of their road for years now and that littering is reckless behaviour.

On April 24, the Boston Millers got together and collected a pickup truck-full of garbage between Highway 10 and Creditview Road, as well as between Chinguacousy and Boston Mills Roads.

Reed said the items picked up ranged from liquor and wine bottles to baby and adult diapers. She issued the following plea to residents of and visitors to Caledon:

“It’s atrocious, the amount of garbage that Caledon is seeing in this beautiful region,” said Reed.

“It’s a privilege to visit Caledon. It’s a rare pleasure to be able to bicycle ride, hike, walk the trails and float down the Credit River. If you visit here, don’t leave your garbage behind. If you live here, take care of your garbage and collect it before it scatters to the river, the fields, the forests and hills.”

According to Reed, the Boston Millers that went out to pick up garbage on Earth Day were Blair and Kathy Smith, Jonathan Weeden, Frazer Torode, Wendy Boughton, Janice and Dave Reed, and Ken and Lindsay Tucker.

Earlier this year, Boston Mills Road residents Cynthia Wood and Alexis Fraser delegated to Town of Caledon Council about problems with littering, and other undesirable behaviour, on their road.

The delegation sparked conversation from Council about how littering was a Town-wide problem.

Addressing Council, Wood said she and her family often pick up trash on the road. In doing this, some of the items they’ve found include needles, batteries, dead chickens and used condoms.

Wood also reported to council three instances of stolen vehicles being brought to Boston Mills Road and burned. She was worried the fires could have spread under the right conditions and caused loss of property or life.

Town staff have been directed to create a report on the issue and bring it back to Council.