The City of Richmond is urging residents to dispose of unused items at appropriate sites, with more illegal dumping incidents being reported in Richmond this year.
“This year so far, the city has spent $150,000 over 316 instances of illegal dumping,” said Suzanne Bycraft, the city’s manager of Fleet and Environmental Programs.
“In 2016, $168,000 was spent to deal with 550 instances. It all comes from taxpayers’ money.”
In 2016, cities across Metro Vancouver reported 37,257 incidents of abandoned waste, with the most-frequently dumped items being mattresses, furniture, appliances, carpet, tires, green waste and large amounts of household garbage.
More than half of the Richmond’s expenses on illegal dumping went to the handling and treatment of illegally dumped hazardous materials such as asbestos and pesticides, which cannot be disposed of in landfills, according to Bycraft.
“We have to send the hazardous materials to special treatment sites and pay professional people to handle them properly, which is very costly,” added Bycraft.
“But this should have been the responsibility of homeowners and construction contractors.”
In 2016, about $70,000 was spent on special waste; in 2017 to date, the figure is $115,000. Bycraft said that illegally dumped items are usually found at places such as a dead-end street, or on Triangle Road in rural Richmond.
There are some “hot spots” in the city for illegal dumping, such as under the Canada Line bridge near the River Rock Casino.
“It is very challenging to catch illegal dumpers, since they usually do it after hours and in (isloated) areas,” said Bycraft.
The city has a reward program, where residents who provide information that leads to a bylaw conviction of the dumper can receive $200. The dumpers themselves, if caught, will be fined $1,000.
Bycraft said much of the illegal dumping happens due to the lack of information and understanding of proper procedures.
More information is online at Richmond.ca/Services/Recycling/Schedule and MetroVancouverRecycles.org.
