Get ready to see a whole lot less litter around the city as London’s annual spring cleanup is about to kick into high gear.

The City of London is ramping up efforts to tackle what they’re calling more accumulated litter than in recent years, thanks to our snowy winter that kept garbage hidden and hard to reach.

If you’ve been downtown lately, you might have already spotted some action happening. Core area sweeping is currently underway, and the full street cleaning army will be deployed starting April 7, with some sweepers hitting the roads even earlier this week (weather permitting, of course).

This year’s cleanup comes with some extra challenges. All that snow we trudged through this winter wasn’t just making your commute miserable—it was also hiding mountains of trash that’s now emerging like some kind of garbage groundhog.

The cleanup schedule will roll out in phases, with crews initially focusing on roads with immediate roadside access. For busier roads with higher speed limits (looking at you, Highbury Avenue), temporary closures will be necessary in the coming months so crews can safely do their thing.

And because Mother Nature loves to complicate plans, weather will play a factor too. Crews need dry conditions to reach those centre ditches, which get pretty soggy this time of year.

For park enthusiasts, you’ll start seeing cleanup crews in mid-April, and all those seasonal garbage cans that disappeared for winter will make their triumphant return by May.

Sports fans will be happy to know that outdoor fields will be fully open by May 12, with premier fields opening the week of May 5. Tennis nets will be up by early May, and all public washrooms in parks will be ready for business by the May long weekend.

The City is also reminding everyone that keeping London clean is a community effort. If you’re feeling inspired to pitch in, there are plenty of opportunities through London Clean & Green’s campaign, which is celebrating its 30th anniversary this year. They’re hosting 12 days of cleaning in April, including the 20-minute London Makeover on Friday, April 11, and the annual Community-wide Clean-up on Saturday, April 12.

For more details, you can check out the full announcement on the City’s website.

If you spot illegal dumping or other trash issues around town, you can report them through the Service London portal at service.london.ca.