The dumping of garbage in back alleys is an issue again in North Battleford.
Sitting as Planning Committee, members of North Battleford city council Monday received a memo from Stewart Schafer, director of city operations, outlining the problem.
Schafer’s memo stated that, in discussions with the roads supervisor, “it would appear that garbage being dumped in the back alleys behind residential property is beginning to rise again.”
Dumping in back alleys had been a problem when communal garbage bins were based in back alleys. In speaking to Planning Committee, Schafer noted city public works staff had to clean up garbage dumped beside the bins.
When the communal bins were replaced by individual roll out carts a few years ago, Schafer said, city crews would go into the back alleys and clean it once, and afterwards it was the owners’ responsibility to clean up. There were also bylaws brought in making property owners responsible for keeping the back alley clean.
The dumping problems seemed to subside with the switch to roll out bins. But now the issue is back. Schafer said they are seeing more and more dumping of items in back alleys.
These items were being dumped “apparently not by homeowners but by people driving by and going ‘oops, it went out the back of my truck,’” and who kept going.
What’s more, the items getting dumped include large ones such as appliances, furniture and mattresses.
These are similar items to those being dumped during the era of the communal bins. It was pointed out later in the meeting that this dumping was likely initiated by non-city residents who come in and dump their items.
According to Schafer, the city’s operations crew had been picking up the garbage and disposing the material at the city’s waste management facility with no charge to the property owner. But this was time-consuming for city staff.
Public works foreman Colin Carriere told planning committee that his workers usually go tour the usual hot spot dumping areas with two or three guys going out in a litter truck and picking up what they could.
He explained the situation had reached the point where he had staff going out “five, six, seven days a month” to pick up items from the back alleys. The problem crops up at the beginnings and ends of the month when people are moving, and also the middle of the month. Carriere figured it was $18,000-$20,000 lost revenue to the landfill.
Administration was seeking council direction on how to address the problem, and Schafer admitted they were in a “quandry” as to what to do.
While bylaws say it is the property owners’ responsibility to clean it up, property owners would then ask why they were being penalized when it was someone else who threw the items away.
One option put forward by Schafer was to charge a nominal fee to residences asking the city to pick up and dispose of waste materials dumped on private property. A second option would be to continue the practice that the community safety officers had started, where the CSOs do an investigation and the operations crew then picks up garbage the CSO recommend, at no cost to property owners.
A third option presented was to follow the bylaw stating that it is the property owner’s responsibility to remove the garbage, including the costs.
The general feeling at the committee table was for option number two, to continue the current practice, but with greater monitoring of the situation.
Mayor Ryan Bater acknowledged continuing this practice was a drain on city resources, but he pointed out not everyone has the means to dispose of somebody else’s waste items. By making them pay, they were being made a victim twice, said Bater.
“I know it takes city resources but a clean city is worth the expense,” said Bater.
To address the expense, Councillor Greg Lightfoot suggested tracking the cost of doing the cleanup and perhaps add that on to utilities rates as a budget line.
Another suggestion from Councillor Don Buglas was to put cameras in the hot spot areas for dumping and catch people in the act. But those would need to be able to read license plate numbers so tickets could be sent out.
The next step suggested by City Manager Randy Patrick was for the issue to return during the budgeting process, when they could look at how the issue could be addressed as part of utilities costs.
