Annual Pathway and River Cleanup finds treasure trove of junk

Michelangelo might be bummed to learn a small statue of David is heading to a Calgary dump.

The renaissance figure was among thousands of items found Sunday during the annual Pathway and River Cleanup, which saw teams of volunteers scour the city's footpaths and riverbanks for waste.

Now in its 50th year, Calgary residents grabbed garbage bags, put on plastic gloves and this time braved the rain for the event.

"We found a couple of bikes, a statue... mattresses, clothing, flip flops, a little bit of everything," said volunteer Kayla Harris. She and her colleagues have participated in the annual spring clean-up for the last four years.

This year nearly 3,000 volunteers participated, making it one of the largest turnouts ever, says city spokesperson Maggie Nelson.

"We have lots of volunteers who come back year after year who want to participate in the event," she said.

The city added clean-up locations to accommodate the increase in volunteers, she explained. Most sites surround the Bow and Elbow Rivers.

Harris figures she and her colleagues filled at least four garbage bags each. Multiply that and the groups may have collected more than 11,000 bags of junk.

The City of Calgary will post a full account of what's collected on itswebsiteMonday.

Volunteers used the hashtag #yyccleansto post finds on Twitter.

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