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Cowichan Citizen Readers say illegal dumping costs more than proper disposal

Facebook readers share their stories
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Rural communities have become dumping grounds. (File photo)

It’s no secret that it happens in rural areas like ours, so we asked our readers on Facebook: What’s the worst illegal dumping you’ve ever seen?

Readers had no hesitation. Everywhere.

SEE RELATED: Illegal dumping season is a year-round issue

“Take a drive out in the woods and take your cameras, drive up and down all the dirt roads,” wrote Kerry Nobbs.

“Try living on a dead end road,” added Lee Hawryluk.

Barbara Ketch was more specific.

“On a forestry road off Hillbank, some idiot dumped a small chest freezer full of rotten meat!” wrote, adding, “Chesterfields seem to end up on Thain Road quite regularly. Someone once dumped kitchen cupboards, sink, counters etc. on our property.”

And the list went on.

“So frustrating, we live off TCH and people dump in front of our place ALL the time,” noted Katie Magnusson.

Ashley Welsby said it likely costs dumpers more in gas than it would to just take their trash to the dump.

“The amount of garbage up in the mountains is ridiculous! I could have no problems coming down with an extra large garbage bag or two of garbage and cans every time I go up,” she wrote. “Pathetic that people dump up there. I took my full sized suv stocked full to the brim and cost a whole 12 dollars. Cost these idiots more in fuel to get up there to dump and come back down.”

Chris Lehmann Thompson and her husband are members of the Cowichan Valley ATV Club and as such, are often well off the main roads riding.

“The amount of garbage we see out in the bush is beyond ridiculous. We’ve seen everything from appliances, to insulation to Christmas lights, mattresses, vehicles, gyproc, old carpet to bags upon bags of trash,” she wrote. “Some folks say it’s because it’s too expensive to take items to the dump. But apparently it’s not too expensive to drive a truck way out in the bush to dump stuff.”

It’s a different world now, wrote Donna Biggins. “What’s wrong with people, no respect for people’s property or people period,” she wrote.

Lena Williams summed it up.

“We have more than what we want/need. We live in a consumer’s world, and this is where it ends up when people are all done,” she said.



sarah.simpson@cowichanvalleycitizen.com

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Sarah Simpson

About the Author: Sarah Simpson

I started my time with Black Press Media as an intern, before joining the Citizen in the summer of 2004.
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