Red Deer County peace officers are probing a trio of illegal dumping cases west of Bowden -- an ongoing problem throughout the municipality that has angered and frustrated citizens for years.
"It is an ongoing problem, absolutely. "I've been here almost six years and it is something we have seen all along,î said Travis Allred, a county emergency management officer. "I think there are definite areas we see with this type of activity but all in all it is a county-wide problem. It's people just not wanting to go to the dumps when they are open. I am not sure what the reason for it would be.î
Roy McArthur, a county resident who lives on an acreage four kilometres west of Bowden, noticed the latest serious incident of illegal garbage dumping before Christmas.
McArthur said in a period of six weeks he noticed three cases of garbage being dumped in ditches along Rge. Rd. 14, about two km south and north of Highway 587.
"The first time we saw it was about six weeks ago when we saw some black garbage bags farther north on Rge. Rd. 14. Then we saw a bigger load of garbage not quite as far north, and then this load of carpet south of that. It looks like somebody is renovating a house and just decided to get rid of the stuff,î said McArthur.
"It is the laziness of people to get rid of this stuff,î he added. "They have dumps for this and it will cost $5 or $10 to dump this stuff off, but it is now going to cost the county a whole bunch more than that to come and pick it up.î
McArthur said he called the county to complain about the dumping but doubts the garbage has been cleaned up due to it being covered up by the ongoing heavy snowfalls.
Allred said the county relies on the provincial Environmental Protection and Enhancement Act to regulate illegal dumping. He said culprits are usually fined $115 if they are caught illegally dumping garbage outside the county's four designated landfill sites, or those in the City of Red Deer and area towns.
Allred said citizens could also call the county's tip line at 403-597-8477 or Red Deer County Patrol at 403-343-6301 if they see suspicious dumping of materials.
"If possible, the inclusion of licence plate numbers and the description of vehicles and persons present is always helpful,î said Allred.
In the meantime, McArthur hopes illegal dumpers will finally get the message that it's just wrong to continue unloading garbage outside mandated landfill sites.
"I think it is an ongoing problem because I have heard from other people, those that live on a dead-end road, that they've got garbage thrown all over the place. My wife has seen some just north of Olds, just off of Range Road 14 as well,î he said.
"I would really like the people responsible to find the proper way of disposing of this. There are better ways of getting rid of it other than throwing it into the local ditch.î
