With more than 2,400 registered residents from across the county taking part in waste collection efforts, Northumberland County recently announced the winners of the 2025 “Keep the County Clean Challenge.”
The challenge, which is in its 15th year, encourages mayors of Northumberland County’s individual municipalities to engage their residents in a county-wide effort to reduce litter and promote environmental stewardship.
During Earth Week from April 21 to 26, a total of 2,472 registered volunteers from across Northumberland rolled up their sleeves to clear litter and illegal dumping from public areas, including roadsides, parks, trails, and other shared community spaces.
The challenge encouraged Northumberland municipalities and townships to engage in friendly competition through their community clean-up efforts.
The Town of Cobourg earned top honours in the category of highest proportional representation of volunteers, with five per cent of its population taking part in this year’s challenge.
The Township of Alnwick Haldimand followed closely in second place with 4.4 per cent participation.
Cramahe Township took home the trophy for hardest working volunteers, by collecting 15.8 kg of litter per volunteer.
“When your municipality is ‘smallest’, odds of winning the ‘the most’ of anything are greatly reduced,” Cramahe Township Mayor Mandy Martin told kawarthaNOW. “So, that said, it is terrific the calibre of Cramahe Township’s volunteer commitment is recognized.”
The Township of Hamilton secured the runner-up position for hardest working volunteers, with an average of 10.4 kg per volunteer.
Northumberland County offered congratulations to all those who participated and thanked community members who helped make this year’s challenge a success, noting the combined efforts continue to build a cleaner, greener, and more connected community.
“Each year, the Mayors’ Keep the County Clean Challenge showcases the incredible dedication our community members have to preserving the natural beauty of our community,” said Northumberland County Warden Brian Ostrander in a statement.
“It’s inspiring to see volunteers of all ages come together with a shared purpose, to take action, make a difference, and lead by example.”
Residents registered with their respective municipalities to help clean up litter in their neighbourhood, including garbage from roadsides, parks, and trails. Municipalities with the highest proportional representation of volunteers and most litter collected per volunteer received recognition at the August 13 meeting of county council.
The year 2024 saw the greatest number of participants in the competition’s history, with more than 3,000 community members collecting 11,427 kilograms of litter.
To learn more about the county’s environmental goals and initiatives and to monitor its progress through key performance indicators, visit the county’s website at northumberland.ca/dashboard.
