Steinbach has again held onto its title as the cleanest city in North America according to the Canadian Beverage Container Recycling Association. The organization has completed its garbage audit in Steinbach, something it has done annually for five years. Executive director Ken Friesen says the numbers are impressive.

"In Steinbach, in the fifth year since the start, the litter has decreased by about 39%. The year-over-year change from 2017 (to 2018) was pretty well flat which is not surprising. At some point, we expected it to plateau."

Friesen says there are several reasons for Steinbach's good showing such as the annual 'Pick Up and Walk' citywide clean-up and an abundance of recycling and garbage containers around the city. But he adds the biggest factor is the mindset of residents to keep the city neat and tidy. But he notes there is one area in particular where Steinbach can still do better.

"We'd like to improve the recovery rate in Steinbach. We still have too many beverage containers not being littered, but ending up in the garbage stream rather than the recycling stream. Overall, Steinbach is doing well, but that's an area where we can improve on as a city."