The City of Burnaby is looking into stiffer penalties for illegal dumping.
At Monday night’s council meeting, Mayor Derek Corrigan asked staff to look into what other Metro Vancouver cities are doing to stop residents from disposing bulky items like couches and mattresses in ravines, parks and alleyways.
“I think people need to be discouraged, and I think if other municipalities are pursuing it more aggressively, then we should be trying to meet those standards,” Corrigan said. “There’s nothing more atrocious than for people trying to keep their city clean and then finding one of their beautiful parks has been soiled by someone dumping a load of garbage, and I want to know we can prosecute that to the fullest extent.”
Right now, the fine for illegal dumping in Burnaby is $200. The City of Surrey, for comparison, has a maximum fine of $10,000. Surrey also has camera surveillance and a smartphone app that allows the public to easily report illegal dumping in parks or on city property.
Coun. Anne Kang asked people to use the city’s large item and appliance pick-up program. Residents can call 604-294-7972 and arrange a pick-up date.
“It costs staff more hours and time,” Kang said of illegal dumping. “If it’s not your property but if it is your item, I’m going to encourage everyone to really be responsible in how we dispose of these things.”
Last year, the city received 8,161 service requests for bulky items (a 12.4 per cent increase from 2015), and 4,279 service requests for appliance collection (a 36.9 per cent increase from the previous year), according to the 2016 solid waste and recycling annual report.
Meanwhile, a total of 5,781 mattresses and box springs were recycled and diverted from the landfill in 2016, a 21.9 per cent increase from 2015.
