SYDNEY, N.S. — Illegal dumping remains a problem, but there is hope a crackdown will act as a deterrence.
Cape Breton Regional Municipality’s solid waste department says in most case what’s discarded could go curbside.
“A lot of it is your household materials that would already have existing programs in place to allow residents to have it removed during our curbside programs,” said Roschell Clarke from the CBRM’s solid waste department.
“We’re seeing household garbage bags and we’re seeing blue bags being dumped. We do see the larger items at times but the most common is your normal garbage bags and blue bags.”
CBRM spokesperson Jillian Moore said there have been at least a dozen charges laid since illegal dumping was added to the municipal bylaw in February 2018.
During the reporting period between April 2019 and October 2019, there were 126 dumping complaints investigated and 41 warnings issued.
“Once people realize that charges are being made to the persons who are illegally dumping, that could make a difference,” said Clarke.
“They’re starting to realize we mean business with our program now, that it’s not just I report it and nothing gets done. Our staff are actually going out and issuing charges when there’s sufficient information, so that probably plays a role as well.”
Clarke is reminding residents that household waste missed due to inclement weather such as snow or high winds can be added to the following collection cycle.
SAFETY MEASURES:
To avoid an illegal dumping fine, CBRM solid waste reminds residents that when accessing services of another person to remove materials they should always:
- Request and record the contact information of the person removing waste materials for you.
- Properly record the licence plate number of the vehicle that is used to remove materials from your property.
- Record the date and time the waste materials were removed from your property.
- Ask for a copy of the scale slip to verify waste was taken to the waste management facility for disposal.
As per collection protocols, CBRM residents are allowed one black bag and up to four clear bags each week. For larger items, an annual heavy garbage pickup is held each spring.
“This is year-round, this is not just limited to the wintertime,” she said. “If you, for whatever reason, feel you should hang onto your garbage for a week — whether it’s because of high winds that are scheduled or you’re not sure if snow could prevent the collector from getting to your area — if you hold onto it, we will collect the extra garbage the following week.”
The same goes for blue bags, which will be picked up on the next scheduled collection day. But don’t mix up your coloured bags, says Clarke, as blue bags can only be used for recyclables — with paper required to be separated in its own bags.
If unsure about the garbage collection process or recycling, Clarke says just give them a call.
“Even if something happens in a household that causes them to have larger amounts of material than they would normally have, they call and they talk to us, and we’ll figure out a way to help them with that problem,” she said.
“If they need to get rid of it right away we’ll provide them with suggestions on how they can do that.”
Nova Scotia regulation changing mean that municipalities must dispose of waste in specially lined dumps, called second-generation landfills.
In 2005, the CBRM signed a 20-year contract that sees its garbage shipped to Guysborough.
Clarke said between the beginning of April and the end of October, CBRM shipped approximately 35,000 tonnes of garbage off island.
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