Trash talk: Steady Brook resident says Humber River litter out of control

A man in Steady Brook, on Newfoundland's west coast,is fed up with garbage piling up along the Humber River.

Ken Huxter,a retired fishing guide,has been enjoying the Humber River for almost 50 years.

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Buthe said the litter left behind by river travellers has gotten exponentially worse over the past few years.

It's like all sense of fairness and justice and cleanliness and quietness disappears.- Ken Huxter

"In the past three years it has been 100 fold or more," Huxter told CBC Radio's The Corner Brook Morning Show.

The litter Huxtersaid he is seeing ranges from beer and pop cans, to articles of clothing. Abig problem, he said, is inexpensive, inflatable rafts and the people, or "rafters," who use them.

"These young peopleand they range in all ages from twoup to parents, but the majority of them are younger peopleand their idea about preserving the beautiful river that they're rafting in is not as strong as it should be," he said.

"In some cases they're going down with beerand pop and juice,and water bottles of course,and loose items of clothing And it is either being thrown out, [and] in some cases deposited on the river banks, [and] floating down the river."

Education, respect key

Huxter said he recently took his son-in-law fishing and in visiting only two stops along the river, he picked up a garbage bagfull of trash.

He said he'seven pulled a large abandoned tarp out of a tree.

"It just seems that when they get out here, and get excited about this lovely ride they're going to take, it's like all sense of fairness and justice and cleanliness and quietness disappears," Huxter said.

Huxter made it clear he does not blame professional tour companies for the garbage, addingthe town is doing what they can byerecting signs and rope barriers.

The only solution inHuxter's mind is education, and teachingpeople who use the river for enjoyment "aboutthe responsibility of preserving this beautiful, beautiful valley and river that we have here."