“I hate to say it, because northern Ontario’s my home turf...but when you come in from Manitoba to here, it’s pretty bad.”
That from Andy Sward, a Thunder Bay area native, currently pushing a baby jogger across Canada, picking up roadside litter to raise awareness against littering on the Trans-Canada Highway.
“I’m on my third cross Canada trip to clean up the highways a bit and promote the fact we should not only reuse, reduce and recycle, but also to take better care of our country and planet and not throw things out of our vehicle windows anymore...hopefully the next generation of drivers will be more respectful of that,” said Sward, a Vancouver caterer, speaking to SooToday during a stop in Sault Ste. Marie Saturday.
Sward says he spreads the anti-litter message across the country and donates, whenever possible, water bottles and pop cans to any school conducting fundraisers along the way.
“At any kind of rest stop along the way where there’s a garbage bin, I’ll put the garbage in the garbage bin or recycling bin...I want to make the highways a little more pleasant for travellers, in vehicles, on foot or bicycle.”
Sward started his third cross country crusade April 24 in Vancouver, hoping to reach St. John's by mid to late October.
He is pushing a baby jogger across Canada, patriotically adorned with Canadian flags and hockey sticks, along with litter bags, a tent, sleeping bag, food, clothing and solar panels in order to keep up to date on his Facebook page.
“I’m pretty much all set,” Sward said.
“There are plenty of beautiful places in northern Ontario to camp by the river or lake, or I’ll stay at a campground,” said Sward, planning to stay overnight with a friend in the Sault.
“I’m picking up a lot of beer cans, water bottles, pop bottles, coffee cups, truckers urine bottles and food litter,” said Sward, pointing to a bag full of Tim Hortons and McDonalds coffee cups he has collected from the roadside in his approach to the Sault.
Delving into human psychology, we asked ‘why do motorists litter?’
“I think some people want to keep their vehicles nice and clean, but they don’t think about what it’s doing to the country...I think more and more as a society we’re realizing we need to change our ways,” Sward said.
Sward told us he plans to head out from the Sault and reach Echo Bay Sunday, adding “99.9 per cent of the people along the way have been supportive” in his journey across Canada.