Calgary’s Curbside Treasure Hunt encourages residents to reduce waste

This might just be your lucky day to find unique treasures in Calgary for free, as the Curbside Treasure Hunt continues across the city on Sunday.

In an effort to reduce waste and promote reusing and recycling, the City of Calgary is encouraging residents to set out gently used items this weekend for the Curbside Treasure Hunt.

Embracing the first day on Saturday is Cody Chatfield, who lives in Bowness, and up for grabs at his place is:

“Stuff I’ve had forever. Everybody accumulates too much stuff,” he told CityNews.

“We have a bunch of knick-knacks from the house and yard, and garden. Someone just grabbed the jumper cables a second ago, and I’ve got an old Sierra backpack, and have got an old water fountain.”

The idea is simple. Residents can set out gently-used, reusable items that they no longer have use for. Leave them on the curb–clear of driveways and sidewalks–and label them ‘free’ for pickup by the pirates or your neighbours to find and treasure.

“I think it’s a great way to reuse, reduce, and recycle. So I’d encourage more of it,” Chatfield said.

“It might take a couple of years till we get a little more uptake, people remember the weekend. But instead of spring cleaning, you can follow up with some fall cleaning. And do something positive, I think.”

The initiative encourages Calgarians to explore their neighbourhoods, discover unique finds, and in the process, help reduce waste by preventing goods from ending up in landfills.

“Yeah, I might take a little peek. It’s fun to see what people have, and you never know what you might need,” Miranda Kroeker said.

As for Chatfield, he also found a personal treasure in his neighbour’s yard.

“I did, yeah. He had a little retainer for wrenches that I’ll use in my garage,” he said.

For the items that don’t get picked up, consider reusing and recycling, and donating to charities or second-hand stores.

Information on where to place any leftover goods can be found on the city’s website.