Armed with blue trash bags, grabbers and gloves, volunteers from the Capital City Cleanup walked the streets of Vanier in Ottawa’s East End Wednesday night. Originally a one-man operation, founder and team leader Bryan Kluke set out collecting trash throughout the city. With the help of social media, Kluke’s movement quickly grew, reaching dozens throughout Ottawa.
Capital City Cleanup partners with the Ottawa Police Hoopstars—a local volunteer organization made up of police members and partners—and other local organizations The group aims to ignite volunteer opportunities in a city where many have been lost due to COVID-19. Shortly after Ottawa entered its second wave of the pandemic, outdoor gatherings were limited to 25 people, forcing Bryan to split his group of volunteers up into teams of less than 25. As Ottawa enters a second wave of the pandemic, the spread of the virus hasn’t stopped Kluke from doing what he does best— cleaning streets of various pieces of litter including used needles and other forms of drug paraphernalia.
Since starting Capital City Cleanup in summer 2020, Bryan and his team of dedicated volunteers have collected 341 bags of trash, 298 used syringes and 56 glass pipes.
Feature Image by Spencer Colby.
