Cottage country to dumpster

BY NADINE ARMSTRONG

The Hants Journal

NovaNewsNow.com



When it comes to waste disposal, why dump trash in your own yard when you can do it in someone else’s?

Bylaw enforcement officer Gary Lunn says that attitude is turning cottage country into a dumping ground.

Eight residents were found guilty last week of illegal dumping and charged fines between $215 and $217. Lunn said the convictions were the result of offences in the Vaughn’s area where illegal dumping has become epidemic.

He said the problem isn’t just a matter of a few residents being sloppy on garbage day. “There are a lot of cases where residents aren’t using clear bags or are mixing their garbage.” For the most part, a warning is all that’s needed to get residents to “clean-up their act.”

However, rather heed the warning, many continue to stash their trash wherever they want.

“If they don’t leave their trash at another property for pick-up, they just dump it roadside or in the woods,” Lunn said.

Starting to pile up

Both Chateau Hamlet and Chateau Village provide mini-barn disposal units for residents, but Lunn said villagers outside those areas are dumping their garbage there as well and it causes quite a pile-up.

Lunn said the behaviour is a mystery to him. “We offer free garbage pick-up, but people don’t seem to care where they leave their garbage,” he said. “In some places, two and three hundred bags are being dumped either in the woods or on someone else’s driveway.”

Although times have changed and residents are now required to recycle, compost and use clear bags, Lunn said that’s no excuse for leaving trash behind. “The six-bag limit should be enough for any size family,” he said.

And, if not, he suggests taking a run to the dump. Lunn said tipping fees at the landfill are very reasonable at $5.75 for a 900-pound load. “That’s a good-sized half-ton truck load of garbage, but people would rather pay the gas to drive around leaving their garbage anywhere else.”

He said investigation into the matter will continue and further bylaw charges are pending.