Illegal trash dumping a 'big' problem in Vaughan

Yorkregion.com
Aug. 23, 2016
By Adam Martin-Robbins

Duane Booth never imagined when he moved to Vaughan last year that he'd become the trash police in his neighbourhood.
But that's pretty much what has happened.

"I've had this ongoing personal battle with polluters," the 56-year-old former Richmond Hill resident said. "I'm just disgusted with the amount of trash and garbage that people seem to just nonchalantly throw out their (vehicle) window."

Since settling into his new home in the Dufferin Street and Major Mackenzie Drive area, Booth has noticed that people regularly pitch trash on the road, along the sidewalks and into the adjacent ravine.

He began noticing even more debris while walking in the Thomas Cook Avenue and Valley Vista Drive area, where there are tracts of undeveloped land.

Strolling around, he spotted mounds of trash, including black plastic garbage bags filled with household waste, large cardboard boxes, piles of asphalt, even an old mattress.

Frustrated, Booth started contacting city officials imploring them to do something.

He said every time he calls, the city dispatches a work crew to clean up the mess, but before long, the litterbugs dump more garbage.

"I have no idea why there's such a disregard for littering and keeping the environment clean," Booth said. "Whenever you go out for a walk, you're walking by trash. … It's pretty disheartening."

Concord/North Thornhill Councillor Sandra Yeung Racco, who represents Booth's area, said illegal trash dumping is a "big" problem throughout Vaughan.

"We hear about it almost on a daily basis from residents," she said. "This is (an issue) right across the city, but more so in the newer subdivisions."

Yeung Racco is at a loss to explain why it's happening.

"It is absolutely horrific in my mind," she said. "I think that it's just a total lack of respect from residents. ... They should be proud of where they live and they should keep it clean."

But she's quick to point out it's a small number of people who are responsible.

"It's just those few people who constantly do it and haven't been caught, who are making everybody's life miserable," Yeung Racco said.

The city has taken steps to combat the problem, offering a slew of initiatives and programs to try to encourage residents to dispose of their trash at their curbside, Yeung Racco noted.

Those efforts include hosting events to educate residents about where to properly dispose of  garbage, allowing an unlimited number of recycling and green bins to be put out weekly, holding Double-Up Days, where residents can put out up to six items on collection day without purchasing garbage tags. It also collects bulky items, such as toilets, sofas, chairs and mattresses, which count toward the three-item garbage limit.

Beyond that, there's not much else the city can do to stop it.

Under Vaughan's littering and dumping bylaw, those caught illegally dumping can face fines ranging from $205 to $5,000.

Proving in court that someone violated the bylaw, however, can be a huge challenge, Yeung Racco said.

"We've had cases where we've actually had our bylaw people go through the garbage to find addresses. Some of (our bylaw officers) have actually returned the garbage to them," she said. "But, in a court of law, unless you actually have a witness or have something to show that this person came and dumped this here, he can always deny it."

Yeung Racco's advice to residents is to snap photographs of people they see dumping garbage and their vehicles, then report it to the city.

The city doesn't track how much it spends annually on cleaning up illegally dumped garbage, but the veteran councillor said she wouldn't be surprised if it was more than $100,000.

"I think the bigger question is to the residents: Do you want us to raise your taxes in order to get more people to come in to clean up after you or should it be that you guys take ownership and start looking after your community or your own area, and if you see someone , report it?"

As for Booth, he finds it ludicrous the city spends so much money to clean up after those who don't give a hoot and pollute.  

"It's ridiculous how much tax money is going into doing this."