A sudden surge in illegal dumping is costing the Township of Langley tens of thousands of dollars to clean up.
Ryan Schmidt, the Township sustainability manager, estimated there have been six instances of illegal dumping over the last three weeks.
“They have all been extremely large dumps of construction waste, predominantly used drywall and home renovation material,” Schmidt said Monday, Sept. 21.
“Cleaning up these sites has required a team of eight crew members, a foreman, a water truck, and countless haul trucks working for roughly 13 hours at each site. We’ve collected approximately 1,000 bags of waste from the six sites.”
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Since the dumped material was mostly drywall, which could’ve contained asbestos, most of the waste had to be treated as hazardous, requiring workers to wear hazardous materials handling garb.
Schmidt estimates the cleanup costs for the six sites will cost Township taxpayers close to $60,000.
In a normal year, that would represent more than six months of cleaning up after illegal dumping.
“We’re asking the public to help us by reporting illegal dumping, especially if they observe it happening,” Scvhmidty said.
“A witness statement is the most effective way for us to hold someone accountable.”
People can report illegal dumping by calling the Township hotline at 1-844-SEE-DUMP (733-3867) or online at the municipal website at tol.ca/illegaldumping.
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Anyone who has hired a contractor to renovate their house should ask them where they’re taking the waste, the Township advises – and ask to see receipts.
Under the Township’s large item pickup program residents are entitled to have four large items picked up from your home each year such as used appliances, mattresses and furniture for example.
dan.ferguson@langleyadvancetimes.comLike us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter
