Dumpster filled in hours: hazardous waste, construction materials, appliances, and more
-SPN News, submitted article
On October 18th ten OPSRRA and JDF Community Trails Society members braved the elements to complete a community clean-up on Otter Point Road in the area just west of King Road. This was the second event funded through a grant from the CRD Community Clean-Up Assistance Program. The volunteers gathered approximately 10 m3 (12 yd2) of garbage, in addition to metal waste, construction materials, electrical appliances, hazardous materials including asbestos/concrete pipe, insulation and drywall.
The dumpster provided by Sooke Disposal Ltd. was almost completely filled within the space of three short hours. Volunteers used their own vehicles, at their own cost, to shuttle materials from the roadside to the dumpster and eventually to Sooke and Hartland waste disposal sites. Volunteers delivered metal waste to the waste depot on Marilyn Place and hazardous materials and electrical appliances to the Hartland Landfill, with CRD mileage allowances paid to the vehicle owners and reimbursement of dumping fees at Hartland through the grant.
Waste collected included television sets, microwaves, fax machines, hairdressing equipment, printers and telephones. Also included in the inventory was a car seat, a sofa, a children’s playhouse and pool as well as a car hood and fender, an empty oil barrel, full one-gallon containers of engine oil and other lubricants and dozens of empty plastic containers, garbage bags filled with household garbage – the list goes on! The dumped concrete and drywall potentially contained asbestos, and required special bagging and disposal at additional cost, as did animal carcasses.
In addition to Sooke Disposal and CRD contributions, The Stick in the Mud and Shirley Delicious provided coffee and sweets for the volunteers which were truly appreciated in the cool, rainy weather. Sooke Home Hardware assisted with the purchase of heavy duty gloves which were invaluable. Mainroad South Island could not attend the site due to commitments to repair culverts and roads damaged in the recent storms, but offered to assist in future efforts.
The volunteers were all pleased to be able to work together on this clean-up but expressed frustration that people find it more convenient to dump their garbage along the roadside rather than take it to a waste depot. Cost to dispose of waste are minimal; disposing of two bags of garbage at the Marilyn Road site costs less than a six-pack of beer and the disposal of the hazardous materials at the Hartland depot was not much more than a case of beer. Electronics and metal are recycled for free at the Sooke and Hartland depots.
Only the people doing the illegal dumping along roadways or in ‘the bush’ know what motivates them. Perhaps it’s saving ten bucks, perhaps it’s not having to drive into Sooke. Whatever the reason, it’s irresponsible and disrespectful toward neighbours and rural residents. It’s because of this irresponsibility that the CRD has adopted a bylaw dealing with illegal dumping as a deterrent. For those who persist in illegal dumping, the bylaw carries a maximum penalty of $10,000 per offence upon conviction.
The objective was to clean up the site and raise awareness of the problem of rampant illegal dumping. The source of the dumped material is unknown but some does come from local sources. This was the second illegal dumping clean-up event spearheaded by OPSRRA with support from the community, the CRD and Regional Director Mike Hicks. No one wants garbage dumped in their front or back yards. The time is long overdue to show more respect toward rural neighbours by stopping illegal dumping.
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[unitegallery otter_point_cleanup]Related
- Dumpster filled in hours: hazardous waste, construction materials, appliances, and more
- Illegal dumping in Otter Point results in community cleanup, Oct 18
- OPSRRA takes the lead on efforts to curb illegal dumping
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- Dumping at Muir Creek
- LETTER: Is shame enough to stop illegal dumping at Muir Creek?
Some of this could be alliviated by municipality if they were to sponsor a yearly pickup of trash. This is done in other places and helps a lot.
Sad, that people do this..
I shake my head that this still occurs and I express gratitude and thanks for all involved with volunteering their time and money to tackle this meat headed issue. Good job
Thank you to those who took their time to clean up. Watch for needles though
Well done everyone. Can’t believe people are so lazy and care so little for our beautiful town.
kudos to the volunteers and shame on those illegal dumpers. such a beautiful part of our province…take care of it!
Right on – keep Canada green!
Still can’t believe people just dump their crap anywhere..very rude…
Sad, getting more like the states all the time. I grew up around Lake Tahoe, and 50 years ago you were hard pressed to find any litter there. now kids leave bags of it on the beach, in the woods etc. 4th of July there is huge piles of it left by the fireworks crowd. get a grip on it, education is key. the 19 year old male is the most likely litter offender. Kids leave litter when others are around much more than when alone. They should have more education in the classroom and at home. I live over on the Olympic coast, and litter is increasing. Although up in the Olympic national park I rarely see any litter. The outdoor crowd is good for the most part.
Trail cameras will not stop it but it will catch these low life’s
That is so terrible
Great job volunteers!!! Shame on the litter bugs!