Someone thinks they are really funny.
They dumped a bunch of their crap, including a broken toilet and a fan, right in front of a City of Burnaby “no dumping” sign on Horne Street near Lougheed mall in a fire lane.
Hardy fricking har.
According to Carrie McLaren, who posted the photo on Twitter, this isn’t the first time it’s happened.
The sad thing is there are resources available to help people dispose of their stuff, such as mattresses and other items. It just takes a little time and effort.
The regional government called Metro Vancouver is pushing to stop the dumping of these mattresses, as well as other items such as PPEs used by people during the COVID-19 pandemic.
In 2020, Metro Vancouver municipalities reported more than 47,000 incidents of illegal dumping, an increase of eight per cent from 2019. Cleaning up and properly disposing of that abandoned waste and operating large-item pickup programs costs local governments about $5.8 million each year.
The most common types of abandoned waste include bulky items — mattresses, furniture, appliances, carpeting and tires — as well as green waste, household garbage and construction debris.
Old mattresses, broken microwaves and expired car seats aren’t the only types of items that need to be considered. The COVID-19 pandemic has also seen the rise of a new kind of abandoned waste: personal protective equipment (PPE) such as masks and gloves.
The region’s residents trashed more than 500 million pieces of PPE last year according to a recent waste composition study, and a significant amount of PPE has been found littered on streets and in green spaces, causing headaches for residents and municipalities alike.
Visit wasteinitsplace.ca for waste disposal and donation options, and use the municipal search tool to find large-item disposal programs in your community. The site also provides information on safe PPE disposal options and tips for washing reusable masks.
Follow Chris Campbell on Twitter @shinebox44.
