Photo by Vince Fedoroff
DEALING WITH IGNORANT ACTIONS – Members of the Ta’an Kwach’an First Nation are seen last Wednesday afternoon cleaning up by McIntyre Creek, the site of the former City of Whitehorse dump. Inconsiderate people continue to dump garbage down the bank.
A massive cleanup of an illegal dumping site off of Range Road has the city getting set to install gates in an effort to prevent a recurrence.
A massive cleanup of an illegal dumping site off of Range Road has the city getting set to install gates in an effort to prevent a recurrence.
In an interview late last week, Marc Boulerice, the city’s parks supervisor, said the city has been working for a little more than a week with the Ta’an Kwachan Council to clean up the former landfill site.
The city is overseeing the effort and paying the wages for three labourers and one supervisor from the First Nation who are on the ground, doing the clean up.
The area has not been used as a landfill for many decades, but illegal dumping continues to happen there despite a number of efforts to counter it over the years.
After getting a number of reports from area trail users about the waste, Boulerice said, the city is once again working to get it cleaned up.
Given the interest of the First Nation in that site as a big part of its traditional territory (though the land is held by the city), the city began working with the First Nation to have it cleaned up.
The full project is anticipated to cost about $5,000.
Over the past week and a bit, workers have been taking out garbage bags full of waste, lumber and old vehicles people have left there.
Boulerice assumes the culprits did it to avoid paying tipping fees at the city’s landfill off the Alaska Highway.
As he pointed out though, this is just one example of an issue that occurs in a number of spots around the city.
“This is just one of many, many locations,” he said. He pointed to sites near McIntyre Creek, in Riverdale and any other number of areas around town.
“It’s a constant battle,” Boulerice said.
Though residents may not like the tipping fees at the landfill, he noted, they’re in place to ensure the money is there to properly dispose of waste.
Most residents, he noted, recognize that, and bring their waste to the landfill, but a minority continues to cause problems. It’s often trail users who stumble upon the waste and report it to the city.
As the city continues to deal with cleaning up the waste, Boulerice said it’s hoping installing gates in certain problem areas, like spots around Range Road, will prevent illegal dumping there in the future.
The gates won’t prevent people from walking through, ideally to use the area trails, but they will keep vehicles from getting through, he said.
Along with the gates – which will cost between $3,000 and $4,000 – the city is considering installing motion-activated cameras in problem areas to help identify those doing the dumping.
Fines for offences range from $100 to $300 under the waste management bylaw.
Tipping fees at the landfill vary by items and load weight, but generally remain under $100 for household items.
Bulky items like couches, for example, carry a tipping fee of $10, while a refrigerator would cost $40 to dispose of at the landfill.
Boulerice is asking anyone who sees items being illegally dumped elsewhere to report the incidents to the city with any information, such as a vehicle’s licence plate number.
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Comments (20)
Up 0 Down 0
simple man on Jul 11, 2016 at 3:10 pm
Let's get back to basics, for all of you who think people need to "pay their fair share" may I remind you that sewer, water, snow removal and yes ..... garbage ..... fall under the utility tax we all pay either directly as a land owner or indirectly through rent. Then there are property taxes which are supposed to pay for other infrastructure such as roads, bylaw enforcement, fire, police, etc. I for one would like to see that money actually spent on those things and not be double billed. Come on city all I really want from you is basic infrastructure and whatever is left over can be spent on "frivolous" things like paved trails in the bush, or an economically unviable and largely unused transit system. if we spent the money on what it was meant for and just like the good old days the garbage truck picked up your garbage (all of it) this would be a non issue, but by all means let's spend a few more million rebuilding the 2 mile/ak hwy intersection for the 7th time this decade, and build another uninsulated sporting complex.
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Pjt1959 on Jul 10, 2016 at 9:05 am
Well the garbage in dumping is a problem. But when I see Mark Sanders blame ATVs for bikes dropping garbage on trails, also as I came across some this year funny thing bike tires not ATV tracks. Used to be less when city was more into sharing trails with all sports, not any more. Yes I saw a washer and stove dumped at hidden lakes parking. Mr. Sanders that was not OVRs either. That is my rant.
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Politico on Jul 9, 2016 at 11:11 pm
It's amazing that people think anything is free. Everything we do, any action in the City of Whitehorse costs money. What we have is a bunch of people who do not think they should have to pay for the services the city offers. They are too cheap to pay for their fair share of services.
Up 13 Down 3
Josey Wales on Jul 7, 2016 at 12:07 am
Yes dumping is a problem and just as tipping fees...increases.
I've been picking up garbage for decades and disposing of it at my own cost...gee am I ever dumb eh?
I will admit though in the last few months, as I bump into more and more folks that never will understand "us" here, see more stupidity outta city hall and where their attention goes....I stopped picking up garbage.
So many folks here, some on the payroll some just filling their resumes just really don't give much of a s**t anymore that even I succumbed to it.
When I seen the garbage vice today looking in bins, paid city employees I knew we lost the last spore of sanity here.
Congrats to those paid to improve the optics around here, I retired.
Pissing in the wind....wondering why my legs are wet?
Up 9 Down 1
Mark on Jul 6, 2016 at 11:01 pm
So Mark Sanders thinks that the city should make little free dumpsites around town.Rather than lifting the cost of tipping fees and have people deliver their own garbage to the dump.This guy thinks we should make little dumps all around the city. "Welcome to Whitehorse,dump your garbage at any of these convienently located dumps, and we'll pick it up and take it to the dump for you" We'll just fund raise by begging people for support. Oh and while you're at it let's throw blame to ATV's? What freaks me out about this idea is that at time of me reading this,there are 5 thumbs up?
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I Don't Buy It! on Jul 6, 2016 at 8:54 am
So they don't like tipping fees. I wonder if these nice folks dump their bags of garbage then don't buy food because they can't afford it, dump their old couch, then sit on the floor because they can't afford a new one, dump their fridge then decide to keep any food they can afford in a cooler with a few ice packs, dump their washer and dryer, then never wash their clothes. I think not.
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It doesn't add up. on Jul 5, 2016 at 10:20 pm
Why are the tipping fees in Whitehorse at the obscene rate of about $90/ton and they are only $10/ton in both Kelowna and Grande Prairie? I suspect Conservative greed which is usually behind these colossal imbalances.
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Mark Sanders on Jul 5, 2016 at 7:29 pm
Mayor and Council
Why not acknowledge that this practice is likely to continue as long as there are tipping fees at the landfill for items like fridges and freezers.
The city should identify an area that has access for vehicles and fence it off with bear fencing and let people dump their materials there- we could then clean up it though a community effort each spring which generates funding for associations which participate in the cleanup. its a win win- all the material will end up in one location and people will benefit from cleaning up the mess. There are parts of the McIntyre park and the creek itself that could be used for a pilot program. And it will save the city thousands of dollar because we all know that gates will be torn down by an ATV or a truck with a winch.
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north_of_60 on Jul 5, 2016 at 3:18 pm
@jc and others are correct, and we've been saying this since they increased tipping fees. The CoW won't listen to reason because they're social engineering lieberals, and they think they know what's best for us.
Up 16 Down 7
Bud McGee on Jul 5, 2016 at 2:52 pm
It's not so much the tipping fees as the annoyance of having to sort all the garbage.
Up 7 Down 17
Go for a walk on Jul 5, 2016 at 1:24 pm
I'm just happy that they are going to block the road again so there are less cars parking in there. If they are in there to genuinely enjoy the views and the fresh air, they could walk in--it's not that far. They'll have to find somewhere else to park and indulge. The gates will prevent some people from driving under the influence.
Up 10 Down 21
Mark Sanders on Jul 5, 2016 at 1:20 pm
Another thought. Hidden cameras to catch people who violate city bylaws is a very good idea.
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mlp on Jul 5, 2016 at 12:46 pm
I agree no one likes paying fees but if you do not want to pay the fees, keep the garbage on your own property. The purpose of the tipping fees is to charge for service of maintaining the dump so that we do not have garbage everywhere. You pay for the use, just like you pay if you want to use the Canada Game Centre. If you can afford to have a vehicle to move this garbage, you can afford the nominal fees to take your garbage to the dump.
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Mark Sanders on Jul 5, 2016 at 12:44 pm
It's unbelievable that people think they have a right to do this. These must be some of the people who do not have vehicle insurance and the ones who also operate unlicensed ATVs on all our nice non-motorized trails.
It's much more than not liking tipping fees. It's an antipathy against nature. People who dump their crap in nature and rip up nice walking trails within the city limits or elsewhere are slightly sick in the head and essentially not good people.
I'm pretty non-judgemental and give people the benefit of the doubt, but these ones are part of the lowest of the low crowd and the city is not protecting us from their actions.
Perhaps a much larger fine, or a larger consequence all together. And bylaw has to actually get out on the trails and watch for incidents and they need to get cracking and ensure atvs have license plates so we can report people damaging trails and our environment.
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ProScience Greenie on Jul 5, 2016 at 7:12 am
CoW residents and businesses are also filling up the community dumps outside city limits and dumping garbage on various trails and back roads.
Perhaps the problem is the very high tipping fees which is mostly just a cash grab. Reduce or eliminate the fees and the problem would mostly go away.
Up 34 Down 4
Max Mack on Jul 5, 2016 at 3:27 am
Rather than admitting that onerous tipping fees are the problem, we get socially engineered commentary like "inconsiderate people continue to dump garbage down the bank."
It is a sad reality of our modern society that fees are being imposed with no other function other than to "manage behaviour". And, yet, with each fee increase and as "illegal" dumping continues, the ruling elite see no other option but to increase rates once again after paying for the cost of fencing, spy cameras and garbage police.
Meanwhile, our dump is filling with waste from outlying communities and we fund Raven Recyling to the tune of millions so they can landfill "recycling".
Ordinary folks can't afford rent or parking, and the city is trying to make every facet of life more expensive. But, "illegal" dumpers are inconsiderate?
Up 33 Down 1
Just Say'in on Jul 5, 2016 at 1:29 am
OK so here is how it works boys.
If you want a certain behaviour out of people you in-cent them. Like when you want the bottles to come back you give them a few cents and low and behold people bring the bottles back.
So you want the garbage at the dump and what do you do? Fine them of course. That aught to elicit the behaviour you want right?
Why don't you have a guy at the dump that meets us and says thanks for bringing that here. Here is ten bucks for your effort. After all that is the result you want.
If we did this every industrial lot in town wouldn't be a qua see garbage dump. (Have you seen Mcrae) Some day we will be cleaning all of those up because of our punitive attitude in the City of Whitehorse Sustainability Department that says we will have zero waste. So where is it going to go? What a bunch of CLOWNS.
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June Jackson on Jul 4, 2016 at 7:40 pm
Its rather naive of Council to think, with all the back roads, and sheer length of those roads that anyone is going to stop off site dumping because they are going to put up a gate and a few camera's here and there. Do i think they should do nothing to stop the huge off site dumping problem poisoning our environment? Of course not.. I think you should make the dump free again. It used to be part of the service we got for paying an arm and a leg in property taxes.
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Get Smart on Jul 4, 2016 at 6:18 pm
It's unbelievable that people think they have a right to do this. It's much more than not liking tipping fees. People who dump their crap in nature within the city limits or elsewhere are slightly sick in the head and essentially not good people. I'm pretty non judgemental and give people the benefit of the doubt, but these ones are part of the lowest of the low crowd. Perhaps a much larger fine, or a larger consequence all together. Now if only the cigarette butt litterbugs would clue in, things could really move forward.
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jc on Jul 4, 2016 at 4:12 pm
As long as the city charges for dumping garbage this is going to happen. I said this months ago. When are our politicians going to get it in their head. Then, when are we going to elect intelligent politicians. For the cost of hiring people to clean up garbage, it would be cheaper to just bring back free dumping.