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Illegally dumped garbage a widespread problem in the city |
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Written by MARK NIELSEN
Citizen staff
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Thursday, 24 July 2008 |
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FOOTHILLS BOULEVARDHART HIGHWAY
So far this year, they've responded to about 80 complaints, bylaw services manager Ken Craig said Thursday, many involving grass clippings and other types of yard waste, but also a fair share of household junk -- old computers, unwanted clothing,
"It's a problem all over the city," Craig said. "Wherever there's a city greenbelt, we get people dumping all their yard waste into the greenbelt, we've got people who will take a truckload of garbage and dump it off at Leslie Road and if you drive up Foothills Boulevard, there's a little pullout at Moore's Meadow and it's just packed with grass.
"Instead of taking it to the transfer station for free, they'd rather dump it on city property."
Privately-owned vacant properties are also popular spots.
"Then we have to go chase the guy who owns the property and say you've got to clean it up," Craig said. "There have been cases when we look at the garbage we'll find a name and track the person day and he'll say 'well, I hired a couple of guys to take that to the transfer station.'"
If the culprit can be found, Craig said the offender will be fined $100 and told to clean up the mess. If it's not cleaned up, a contractor will be hired will do the work and the bill passed onto the offender -- it added up to about $200 the last time that happened.
One of the most astounding incidents in Craig's most recent memory occurred when a local roofing company was dumping construction material off Guay Road by the jail to avoid paying the tipping fee at the landfill.
"Luckily, somebody got a licence plate number, so we made him go and get his crap and take it to the landfill," he said.
Despite such measures as fencing along Hoferkamp Road, throwing items off the top of the cutbanks remains a popular pastime, but it's not the only location. Fridges, freezers and abandoned cars can be found behind the weigh scale on the Hart Highway.
"It's like a secondary dump up there," Craig said.
All this despite the fact most items can be dropped off at area transfer stations or the Foothills landfill for free, in the case of yard waste, or a nominal cost of $4 for most other items if there's not enough room in the household cart. Recycling depots, meanwhile, accept computers at no cost, and provide refunds for several types of bottles and cans
The exception is the refrigerators and freezers. Landfills and transfer stations charge $15 because of the cost of handling the refrigeration chemicals, but that's down from $25 a few years.
Coun. Brian Skakun, who encountered a handful of piles at the side of a walking trail in the Cranbrook Hill area off Tyner Boulevard, said there's no excuse for what's going on.
"I would just encourage people, when they see something, to phone the city and try and get the people who are doing this," he said. It's just plain laziness, that's all."
Skakun found a checkbook with someone's name on it in one of the piles. City officials will be contacting the person, Skakun said, but suspects the items -- which included a computer, a vacuum cleaner, a pair of runners and a jacket -- may have been thrown out by a landlord.
Like Skakun, Craig said the best thing to do is to call the city, especially if evidence of the dumper can be uncovered. City parks department employees clean up the messes when they have time, although they'll give immediate attention if there's something noxious left behind.
But dealing with all the messes can be frustrating.
"They spend all that time keeping the parks nice and then somebody comes along and dumps a bunch of crap in there," Craig said.
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Last Updated ( Sunday, 07 September 2008 )
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