Marc the Litter Guy Helps Clean Up Toronto

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Some years ago I was asked for directions downtown by a couple of New Yorkers. After thanking me, one of them said, "Have to tell you, we're so impressed by how CLEAN Toronto is! We haven't seen any garbage on the streets anywhere." And maybe you've heard the story of how a U.S. film crew had their intentionally garbage-strewn street cleaned up by Toronto sanitation workers.

These days, however, people don't seem to have as many qualms about tossing their garbage into the street. Also, city cutbacks will mean less street cleaning.

When I saw someone picking up garbage from the street near Queen and John late this afternoon, I was surprised until I read his sign. As I handed him some money, he thanked me and said that he was trying to earn enough to get off the streets.

Out of curiosity, I Googled "The Litter Guy" when I got home and discovered that Marc the Litter Guy is collecting garbage because he doesn't want to panhandle. According to this blog post, Marc has been picking up about 80 bags of garbage a day for over a year now. Apparently he's even talking to faculty at the University of Toronto about a project where panhandlers could meet at the university then head off to different areas with garbage bags.

Great idea, of course, but I think we could all help out. The City of Toronto has a special call-in line for reporting "litter hot spots" (overflowing bin or basket, unusually dirty street or sidewalk): 39-CLEAN (392-5326). But more importantly, don't be a lazy slob...put your trash where it belongs. This includes chewing gum and cigarette butts; the latter can take up to 12 years to break down.

And if you see Marc around, do consider giving him some money.

Reader Reviews and Comments

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Thanks for posting info about him. I have seen him all over the Toronto core for the past year.

Posted by: David H. Johnston at October 5, 2007 10:21 PM

I remember seeing this guy last year downtown. He was pretty friendly my young daughter waved at him and he was pretty cool. I can see this spread slightly but I don't think anyone would be as cool as Marc.

Posted by: db at October 5, 2007 11:38 PM

I almost got off the streetcar the other day when i saw him in front of U of T, doing his thing. I didn't, but I will definitely keep my eyes open for him around and make sure to give him a kind word and of course some money. imagine if we all did what he does every once in a while...

Posted by: louis at October 6, 2007 12:46 PM

His name is actually Mark with a 'k".

I have helped setup a couple of blogs for Mark, for him to talk freely about his daily encounters and experiences.
http://markthelitterguy.blogspot.com/

The other one is about his opinions, ideas and dialogue.
http://littered-thoughts.blogspot.com/

Posted by: musixist at December 11, 2007 4:04 AM

By the way, just in case you all are wondering, no, Mark doesn?t have a computer and he doesn?t know how to type.
He writes all his thoughts on papers, I pick them up from him, type and post on his blogs.

Posted by: musixist at December 11, 2007 4:44 AM

To all the nice folks out there, if you would like to help Mark the Litter Guy, I am in contact with him on a regular basis, feel free to email me with any help, suggestions or idea, I am more than happy to pass it along.

Right now, I would like to help Mark get a pair of prescription glasses, so if anyone out there know someone or is willing to donate their services(or exchange for Mark's services) as an optometrist, please let me know.

If you are curious how our friendship started, you can read it from here. http://musixisum.blogspot.com/2007/10/mark-litter-guy.html

Posted by: musixist at December 11, 2007 2:10 PM

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