Metro Vancouver and relationship experts agree: being dumped and being recycled are two different things.
Following 37,257 documented incidents of discarded mattresses, carpets, tires, green waste and other assorted slop in 2016, Metro Vancouver is trying to kick illegal dumping to the curb with their Put Waste in its Place campaign.
City of North Vancouver residents can snap a picture of unauthorized trash on their smartphone and use the City Fix App, which sends GPS co-ordinates to work crews who can clean up the mess.
The free app is available at cnv.org/Online-Services/City-Fix.
If you need to rid yourself of last century’s furniture or last season’s laptop, the District of North Vancouver offers a Waste Wizard search engine that offers specific instructions for each item. The search engine can be found at dnv.org/programs-and-services/where-take-items-you-cant-dispose-curb.
Illegal dumping can cost municipalities $5 million in annual cleanup costs, according to Metro Vancouver. Residents, rather than businesses, are responsible for the majority of unlawfully relinquished refuse.
“Alarmingly, 60 per cent of residents told us they have in the past, or likely will in the future, illegally dump items, with inconvenience being the deciding factor,” stated Metro Vancouver chairman Greg Moore in a release.
Metro Vancouver’s survey also showed approximately 40 per cent of residents view dumping in public places as “just another form of recycling,” according to Moore.
The District of North Vancouver received 175 requests from the public for cleanup of illegal dumping in 2016 and 154 calls so far this year.
The district has spent more than $42,000 on cleanup this year to date.
The City of North Vancouver catalogued 108 dumping incidents in 2016, as well as 39 in the first quarter of 2017.
In West Vancouver, there’s a report of illegal dumping approximately once every two business days, according to spokeswoman Donna Powers.
Dumping patterns haven’t changed substantially in the past five years, according to Powers.
“We continue to try and get the message out for people to take pride in their community and educate them on where to dispose of things properly,” she wrote in an email.
Anyone who needs help finding drop-off locations for recyclable material can call 604-732-9253.
More information about Metro Vancouver’s initiative is available at metrovancouver.org/services/solid-waste/projects-initiatives/put-waste-in-its-place/Pages/default.aspx.
