Saskatchewan

Sask. man sick and tired of litter, vows to clean up province

Kamao Cappo says it feels like a slap in the face when he sees garbage and litter strewn across the province.

Kamao Cappo and his kids have been doing their part to make the province cleaner, challenge others to help

If Kamao Cappo drove past this mess he'd pull over and pick it up. What would you do? (Ron Roteliuk)

One man from the Muscowpetung Saulteaux First Nation is trying to make Saskatchewan a cleaner, prettier province.

Kamao Cappo says people throw bags of garbage into the ditch near his home, and he describes the littering as a slap in the face.

"When you see these piles of garbage you get an ugly feeling in your stomach," he said.

So Cappo started simply picking up trash. When he sees trash in the ditch while he's driving, he says he pulls over and grabs it. So do his kids, who are ages 15, 14 and 11.

He said he was inspired by a woman from Australia who quit her job to pick up garbage.

And he originally posed a challenge to Indigenous people across Saskatchewan to pick up garbage.

"We talk a good talk" he said. "But we gotta do the action, too."

Cappo says sometime he feels like people are looking down on him for picking up trash, and from time to time he feels a bit embarrassed because he worries people might think he's doing something odd. But, ultimately, he feels it's worth it.

"Most of it is positive," said Cappo. "I tried to do it as quick as you can when nobody is looking."

Regardless, he doesn't hold a grudge against people who litter — he just wishes they were a bit more conscientious.

"These are good people that do this. It's not bad people," said Cappo.

"It starts with a cup. You throw a cup out and think, 'Oh it's nothing.' But if you have thousands and thousands of people throwing cups it adds up to a lot."

With files from CBC Radio's Morning Edition