The Regional Environment Action Committee (REAC) spring cleanup in Slave Lake was held on May 30 and 31.

It covered multiple sites this year, including bush areas behind Heritage Village Apartments, the pump station near Lesser Slave River, log east of Cornerstone, and the Slave Lake Weir area.

“We got a big pile that day,” says Jule Asterisk, REAC project manager and one of the organizers of the cleanup.

One of the most impacted areas was the area behind Heritage Village Apartments, according to Asterisk.
She says the volunteers, including herself found long-standing garbage.

“There was a lot of metal back there… the whole bottom of a car, basically,” she says. “That looks like illegal dumping.”

Asterisk clarified that while there is an encampment in the area, the heavier debris was not associated with residents there.

In total, about five volunteers participated in the cleanup days.

“They were awesome,” Asterisk says. “We were done faster than expected.”

By the end of the cleanup, volunteers had collected approximately 90 bags of garbage, not including metal items that had to be hauled separately, Asterisk says.
One of the main issues was the lack of a functioning truck to transport collected waste.

“We had a truck that broke down—my son’s,”she says. “Then a friend stepped in at the last minute and helped take all the bags.”

She says that some metal waste required additional help to transport and dispose properly.

Asterisk says that she also reached out on social media seeking a truck but received little support.
“That’s really disappointing in a community with hundreds of pickup trucks,” she says.

Because of these challenges, Asterisk said REAC may need to rethink its approach for future cleanups in Slave Lake.

One alternative under consideration is shifting more focus to highway cleanup programs, which provide equipment, support, and compensation per kilometre.

“With highways cleanup, they give us bags, vests, and they pick everything up,” she says.

Despite the challenges, Asterisk thanked GFL Slave Lake for providing a waste bin when municipal support was unavailable, and Cornerstone for assisting with disposal of bags collected on their property.

“They really stepped up,” she says.

Asterisk says the weir site remains an area of concern due to lack of garbage infrastructure.

“There’s no trash can there because there’s no one to empty it,” she says. “It’s a leave-no-trace situation.”

She added that fishing-related waste such as bottles, wrappers, and containers continues to accumulate in areas where visitors do not carry out their garbage.

However, she acknowledged that ongoing issues like homelessness, lack of shelter services, and drug toxicity concerns are increasingly intersecting with environmental work.

“We’re dealing with more than just garbage,” she says. “It’s connected to bigger issues in the community.”

Looking ahead, Asterisk explains that REAC plans to review its cleanup strategy, including the possibility of expanding fall creek cleanups, which are better suited for environmental and ecological reasons.

For now, Asterisk says that the REAC will remain committed to continuing cleanups like cleaning the Sawridge Creek area.

“We’ve got the volunteers,” Asterisk says. “We just need the resources to keep going.”

Julia Magsombol
Lakeside Leader