Unwanted junk is popping up in many ditches along rural roads and area highways.
And Corman Park councillors aren’t happy about it.
“There’s quite a bit of garbage that’s getting dumped,” said Corman Park Division 3 Councillor Lyndon Haduik during a discussion at the Corman Park council meeting on Monday, April 22. “And the reality is a lot of it is coming out of the city.”
Haduik said it’s a problem that happens every spring, as urban residents dispose of unwanted items.
While some culprits dump their garbage themselves, others may unwittingly be contributing to the problem by hiring unscrupulous ‘contractors’.
“If somebody offers to haul all your junk to the landfill for a real cheap price, be suspicious,” said Haduik. “If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is. A guy with a truck might say, ‘oh, I’ll haul your garbage for 50 bucks. Well, they get to the landfill and they find out it costs more than that to unload, so they just go and dump it in a ditch somewhere instead.
“And if that garbage has your name on it, like an address on an envelope, you could be getting a call about it.”
Corman Park Division 8 Councillor Wendy Trask said the problem isn’t restricted to any one area of the municipality.
“It’s an ongoing problem in my division,” said Trask.
The RM of Corman Park has an anti-dumping bylaw that carries a fine of $1,000 for a first offence and $2,000 for a second offence for persons found to be in violation.
According to the bylaw, ‘dumping’ means “abandoning waste or causing waste to be abandoned in any location other than a receptacle provided for the collection of waste, as approved under the authority” of the provincial Municipalities Act.
‘Waste’ is defined in the bylaw as: “any discarded or abandoned organic or inorganic material, including material or byproducts discarded in a manufacturing or producing process, dirt, rocks, rubble, garbage, tree cuttings, grass, leaves, empty or party empty tins, boxes, cartons, bottles and containers, discarded paper and fabrics, discarded household utensils, household furniture, household appliances of any nature, trees, concrete or any other refuse, rubble or matter.”
In addition to fines, anyone found guilty of violating the bylaw will also be responsible for costs incurred by the municipality for waste disposal and clean up , which can run into hundreds of dollars.
The South Saskatoon Landfill, operated by a private company, Green Prairie Environmental (www.gpenvironmental.ca) provides service to residents of the area south of Saskatoon.
The landfill at one time was owned and operated by the RM of Corman Park, but it was sold to Green Prairie Environmental in 2014. The company sates on its website that “Environmental stewardship is our top priority. We make every effort to reduce our environmental footprint and strive for zero deviations from the highest environmental standards.”
Tipping fees are charged based on the load. The South Saskatoon landfill is located eight kilometers south of Saskatoon, and just west of Highway 219 on Baker Road East. The site features an office and 80’ long weigh scale, allowing fast and convenient service to all commercial customers. Residential customers can use dedicated disposal bins located near the site entrance and away from commercial trucks.