By Haldimand Press Staff
HAGERSVILLE—Last week’s Catch the Ace was quite the spectacle as thousands of people converged on Hagersville, with many noticing overflowing garbage cans and planters along Main and King streets, both filled with trash. While it would be easy to call the unpleasant sight an anomaly driven by the huge appeal of Catch the Ace, Hagersville Chamber of Commerce President Rob Phillips said the sight is far more common than people might realize.
“We all know that garbage in the downtown core of our urban areas in an ongoing problem. In Hagersville it seems that all too often our empty planters are assumed to be garbage receptacles and once it starts they get filled to the point of overflowing,” said Phillips in a letter sent to The Press.
He said that the garbage issue was brought to his attention last week while at the Legion for Catch the Ace, explaining, “While it may have first been thought to have been solely attributed to patrons of Catch The Ace, I can tell you that while it may have been a factor it is not the sole nor primary source of such garbage.”
Haldimand County is still taking extra measures to curb any additional trash from Catch the Ace, as staff “will be placing temporary garbage cans set out along the ‘line up’ route. Cans will be distributed on Thursday morning and collected on Friday,” said Lidy Romanuk, Manager of Economic Development and Tourism.
On Sunday morning, Phillips, on behalf of the Hagersville & District Chamber of Commerce and the Hagersville BIA, decided to see first-hand how much garbage had accumulated: “13 full garbage bags later all of the planters and the overflow around the garbage receptacles had been cleaned up.”
He continued, “Thank you to the person(s) who had already bagged up the garbage that had accumulated in the planter at the Main Street Mall. And a few passersby offered their thanks; one even mentioned that they try to keep the planter at the corner of King Street West and Tuscarora Street clean but it constantly is overflowing.”
Phillips said that the matter of garbage accumulation is a “constant” subject at meetings for the Chamber of Commerce, Haldimand Business Network, Environmental Operations Division, and Council.
“The Chamber and BIA are undertaking to put resources in place to address this garbage on a regular basis, funding the cost of doing so through the Haldimand County provided Downtown Operating Grant and the BIA operating budget,” said Phillips.
In the meantime, he urges residents and visitors to Hagersville to use proper waste receptacles, and to avoid leaving excess waste behind wherever possible.
