A man running across Canada collecting recyclables and trash along the highway has made his way into the Ottawa Valley. On Thursday afternoon, Andy Sward, who works for a catering company in Vancouver, stopped in Petawawa as a part of his six month journey across the country. Sward says he started his trip on April 24th and has been running for almost four months. He started running in Vancouver and plans to finish in two months in Cape Spear, Newfoundland. He adds it’s the third time he’s run across the country and he plans to do the return trip next year to collect all the waste on the opposite side of the highway.
Sward says Ontario has been the worst for litter and he thinks it’s because there’s no deposit on water and pop bottles. When possible, he says he takes the cans in to get cash and donates the proceeds to local organizations or sports teams. You may see Sward running along the side of the Highway today as he makes his way over to Portage du Fort, before heading to Ottawa this weekend. He is pushing a jogging stroller decked out with Canada flags and with bags for the recyclables he finds along the way. He says he has a tent and sleeping bag with him and he usually tries to find a nice spot by the water to spend the night or a motel if the weather isn’t holding up. You can follow him on social media by searching million dollar pledge. Sward says if he keeps this up for 20 to 30 years, he will have collected a million bottles, cans and cups discarded on the side of our highways.