Oscar the Grouch is the face of Waste Reduction Week

The program is developed and delivered by a coalition of 13 different recycling councils and sister organizations across the country who foster and promote waste reduction and conservation. It's aimed at encouraging individuals to reduce, reuse and recycle in all aspects of their lives.

The character will be featured in ads aimed at educating and encouraging the public to take part.

In a lifetime, the average North American will throw away 600 times his or her adult weight in garbage, and a 68 kilo adult will leave a legacy of 40,825 kilos of trash, according to figures from Natural Resources Canada posted on the Waste Reduction Week in Canada website.

Oscar is performed by Muppeteer Carroll Spinney. Spinney's other lead character is Big Bird. During the first season of Sesame Street, the street set was arranged such that Spinney, who is right-handed, was forced to operate Oscar's head with his left hand. A subsequent redesign of the set allowed him to switch hands. Spinney has said in interviews that he modeled Oscar's voice on that of a grumpy New York cab driver he once hailed.