A couple of months ago I came across a new illegal dump site while out on my morning hike, and was pleased to see, in the minutes of the last Greenwood council meeting, that action is being taken against the individual responsible, based on evidence found in the garbage.
It’s nice to know the city is taking illegal dumping seriously since the regional district, by their own admission, doesn’t see it as an increasing problem.
I don’t know what the region’s decision makers base their assessment on. Maybe things are different in the civilized part of our district where they spend there time, but out here, on the fringes, there is a considerable portion of the population which stubbornly refuses to conform to civilized standards.
Perhaps someone from the regional district should take a trip up to the end of the old Motherlode spur, where an enormous quantity of trash has been accumulating over the years. Or head over to Camp McKinney where the site is strewn with garbage, something which must impress treasure-seeking tourists looking for stolen bars of gold.
Instead of dealing with a situation which they apparently don’t see, by listening to local complaints and reducing or eliminating tipping fees and increasing hours of operation at local landfills, the regional district has decided to reduce the hours of operation, citing a reduction in use.
A rational person might draw a connection between increased illegal dumping and a reduction in the use of the local landfill, but I suppose they think recycling is largely responsible for the reduction, ignoring the fact that at least 75 per cent of illegally dumped garbage is recyclable.
“People just need to be educated,” they say, assuming that will just magically happen without signs or fines.
I walked passed the new pile of trash the other day, the one the city is taking action on, and noticed that, from a distance, it appeared to have been cleaned up.
Walking closer I could see that the visible garbage had just been pushed further over the bank with the rest of it. Out of site, out of mind, by the regional district’s assessment.
– Curtis Chamberlain, Greenwood
