Red River Operation Clean up shows how a little effort makes a big difference
It’s been 25 years since Robert Belanger started Red River Operation Clean Up (RROC). Since then, the project has grown and the results continue to impress. Throughout his time organizing clean up efforts on the Red River, Belanger and his team have managed to rid the river of over one million pounds of garbage that would have otherwise ended up polluting the area around the river or moving downstream to pollute Lake Winnipeg.
“Red River Operation Cleanup was started by myself 25 years ago. I spent 33 years as a Conservation Officer in Manitoba, working all over the province. I was born and raised in Selkirk. Currently live in East Selkirk but at the time, I was working in Selkirk,” said Belanger.
Walking the shorelines of the Red River having accomplished his dream of being a conservation officer, Belanger said that seeing the amount of garbage that littered the shoreline was mind-boggling.
He explained that items like garbage and picnic waste, lawn chairs, picnic tables, shopping carts, tires and refrigerators were all things he remembers seeing.
He started the project on his own by approaching the local RMs and City and letting them know that there was a problem and that he was hoping to create an organization that could help clean the area around the river.
“You want to give back to your community, especially a community I grew up in,” explained Belanger.
Though it was a tough start, the program slowly gained steam and Belanger was able to get help not just from the RMs and the City of Selkirk but from local organizations as well. Right now, the major sponsors of the program are the RM of St. Clements, The RM of St Andrews, the RM of East St. Paul, Manitoba Hydro, Gerdau Ameristeel, the St Andrews Loc and Dam and the federal government and the City of Selkirk. These donations allow Belanger to do some great work.
“We put out about 40 green barrels (for garbage) throughout the region, all the way up to the perimeter and all the way down to the end of Main St. north of Selkirk,” said Belanger.
The barrels make their home around the river in the spring and summer months so that anglers have a place to put the items that they want to throw away. They also have workers who pick up garbage from the shoreline and collect the garbage from the barrels regularly during this time.
Unfortunately, not all of the garbage makes it into the barrels and there is still a problem where people, mistakenly or intentionally, dump small and sometimes large items along the river.
“They are coming and dropping their couches. They’re coming and dropping their refrigerators, propane bottles, construction waste — drywall, shingles. They look for a little nook and cranny or a little road going off to the river where it’s shaded and they dump their truck out and they drive away,” said Belanger.
This is not allowed as garbage needs to be brought to approved areas in our municipalities where it can be processed properly. This is especially important for hazardous items.
Though fishing waste and household garbage are common finds, there have been a few items that have surprised Belanger. A few years ago a whole cow skull was found near the water.
The weirdest thing that we’ve found is, “someone brought their dead two-foot iguana and threw it in the garbage can. When my workers went and lifted it up, they jumped,” said Belanger.
In addition to RROC’s summer employees keeping the area clean, they have also partnered up to run clean ups with businesses and organizations throughout the region.
Belanger has also spoken to the students in our local schools about what he does and the environmental impact that the garbage has on our area.
These efforts have resulted in recognition, not only from people who notice the river is looking cleaner, but also from groups like the Red River Basin Commission.
Belanger said that he didn’t know when he started this project 25 years ago that it would become as successful as it has but he was optimistic.
“When I start something, I stick to my guns. I’m a fully committed, passionate person and when I was told over and over and over that you’re going to fail. I was told over and over and over that, this will never succeed. I was told you shouldn’t be doing this. I dug in deeper and said, ‘There’s no way that I’m going to give in to anybody telling me that I can’t do this.’ I just had this gut feeling that this program was going to become something good,” he said.
Belanger has since retired from his career in conservation and he attributes the success of this program to the generosity of the groups that sponsor his efforts and the people who have worked with him to clean up the river.
“It’s not about me. It’s about the program, the good it does for the environment, the amount it’s picked up, the recognition the program got, but more over the partners that keep it sustained,” he said.
If residents or local organizations would like to make a donation to RROC or partner with Belanger to organize a clean up, he can be reached at robert@rmofstclements.com, as he also wears the hat of a St. Clements councillor.
