Illegal dumpsite found by Joshua Mandel. (Courtesy of Joshua Mandel via facebook.)

By Veronica Beltran

illegal dumping could land you with a fine or jail

“It’s not only unsightly, it’s dangerous”: Dumping garbage illegally

Sep 13, 2019 | 12:12 PM

PRINCE GEORGE–A local man bumped into a pile of garbage eariler this month, and used the encounter to teach his son right from wrong.

Joshua Mandel took to the Hart Facebook page, where he shared photos of the site and explained that he was quading with his son when they ran into the pile. “We stopped to take a look and he (his son) asked me why the garbage was out in the bush,” reads the Facebook post, “when he asked me why someone would dump their garbage in the bush I used the words like disrespectful, lazy and ignorant to describe whoever it was,” it continues.

Mandel and his son were out quading earlier this month when they ran into the pile of garbage in the bush. (Courtesy of Joshua Mandel via facebook)

This isn’t the first time Prince George residents have encountered piles of garbage in the bush, and Steve Hamilton, President of Spruce City Wildlife Association says that unfortunately, it won’t be the last. “We are always getting reports of illegal dumpsites through citizens, posts on Facebook or through the conservation officer service,” he told CKPG news on an over the phone interview.

Hamilton says illegal garbage dumping isn’t only “unsightly, it’s dangerous.” From needles, to tires, car batteries, paint and household items, Hamilton says he’s seen it all.

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“Its no shock that our salmon up here are in crisis…some of these items can leak toxins into these fish baring streams, which does further damage to these stocks,” mentions Hamilton. According to him they’ve cleaned up around 35,000 lbs of garbage in the last couple of years, and that number is “conservative,” excluding recycling, and vehicles.

According to Conservation Officer, Mark West , under the Environmental Management Act, littering and dumping sewage from a RV can see a ticketed offence of $115.00, however if that littering warrants a court appearance up to a $2,000.000 fine or six months in jail, or both.

Introducing waste to cause pollution, introducing waste from a prescribed industry or activity ticketed offence for $575.00, if that situation warrants a court appearance the maximum fine is $1 million and up to to six months in jail or a combination.

Hamilton says they aren’t sure why people decide to keep tossing their trash in the bush and mentions that some of the sites that they’ve cleaned up are quite a ways away, meaning offenders are wasting fuel money on illegal activity, “it’s costing them quite a bit of money on fuel to go out there and do this, when it could cost them $6-$12 at the landfill…and do it legally, with no lasting impact on the environment.”

Prince George offers several recycling facilities that will take unwanted technology, furniture, and your everyday household garbage. The Conservation Officer Service encourages the public to report illegal dump sites or anyone seen doing it at 1-877-952-7277.