The Okanagan Similkameen Regional District is praising grassroots efforts to clean up illegal dumping in B.C.’s Southern Interior.
For the past eight years, the Okanagan Forest Task Force has been removing randomly dumped trash, metal and the like from the valley’s backcountry.
This weekend, work is underway to clean up a landfill near Okanagan Falls.
“Illegal dumping poses many threats to health, safety, the environment and the economy,” the regional district said, “such as increased risk of wildfires, pollution of water and soil, decline in property values and injuries in people around landfills.”
To help expedite the cleanup, the RDOS says it will waive landfill fees when illegal landfill waste is collected and taken to a local landfill.
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According to the regional district, the Okanagan Falls landfill is “an unusually large problem area, consisting of RVs, household waste, burned vehicles, metal and other materials.”
“It’s impressive to see volunteers doing work to protect our natural environment,” said RDOS President Mark Pendergraft.
“These cleanup events are an important reminder for everyone to respect the backcountry and dispose of waste and other materials in local landfills.”
The Okanagan Forest Task Force estimates Saturday’s cleanup will help the group reach a milestone: More than a million pounds of trash and recyclables have been removed from area forests since 2016.
Last June, the group near Kelowna removed 13,470 pounds of metal and 7,452 pounds of waste from an illegal dump along Postill Lake Road.
“From lawn mowers, kitchen sinks, stoves, cast iron stoves – I mean, you name it. There was all kinds of stuff up there,” task force member Reto Gebert told Global News at the time.
The regional district says if community groups are interested in organizing cleanups of illegal dumps, they should first contact the RDOS Solid Waste Division to ensure proper procedures are followed.
If you witness illegal dumping or know of an illegal dumping site, you are encouraged to contact Report All Poachers and Polluters by calling 1-877-952-7277 or by go online.
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