SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE - Instilling a sense of social responsibility in young people is the key in Yellowknife's fight against garbage - that's according to Capitol Theatre owner Chris Wood, an enthusiastic litter picker-upper.

"If you look at a lot of charitable organizations, many of the members are older. It's as if we're losing an entire generation to the idea of public service," said Wood.

While he said the 10 to 15 Trash Pick-up Artists who regularly pick-up trash on select Wednesdays are diverse in age, from retired seniors, to parents who bring their children, to students and business people; the same old excuses are abound.

"Every time I hear 'well I'm too busy, I have a family and we've both got jobs,' I keep thinking, everybody can give a couple of hours a month back to their community," he said.

The solution, he said, may well start in the schools.

"I think schools should really take a lead in this, and make the kids feel more socially responsible for trash," he said.

"They would say 'tomorrow is litter day' and everybody has to come to school and pick up, say, five pieces of garbage."

He said it's all about reinforcing positive behaviour in young people.

"If you start at a young age, I think that it's a lot easier to educate. You can't really tell someone in their forties to stop (littering) because they're pretty well in the mindset that it's OK," he said.

Wood got involved in the Trash Pick-up Artists last summer, about two months after arriving from Windsor, Ont. - having been involved in similar projects there.

"I saw it not just as an altruistic thing of like, let's clean up downtown, but because I run a business I want to ensure that our garbage is not littering downtown as well," he said.

"When someone sees a popcorn bag or a drink cup, I don't want them to think of the litter that we cause but rather the experience they had at the theatre."

Not only does Wood take a leading role in the monthly downtown pick-ups, he also keeps a daily watch on the area around his theatre.

"I check daily for litter outside the theatre - even when I'm just coming to and from work, I'll just walk around the building and make sure it's clean," he said.

He added the city needs to install more trash cans on the streets surrounding the main downtown area.

"People just take it (litter) and walk three or four blocks and say 'you know I don't need this extra popcorn' and they just toss it on the ground. The city could certainly use a lot more, and larger, garbage cans. Those little tiny metal things - they fill up in two seconds," he said.

However, Wood said he has seen a marked improvement in the litter levels since he got here.

"I think it's been a lot better this year. I think there's a lot more public awareness... We used to go out last summer and fill up two garbage bags. Now we go out and fill up maybe half a bag," he said.

"Actually we're able to cover a larger area when we're picking up less garbage, and you want to do as much of the city as you can."