Whitehorse looks to crack down on illegal dumping

Whitehorse officials say it's a growing, unsightly and expensive problem in the so-called "wilderness city" and they want to figure out how to get it under control.

Too many people are dumping trash in the bush, presumably to avoid the cost or hassle of taking it to the landfill.

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Mayor Dan Curtis calls it a persistent problem that's "a black eye on our community."

"If we don't push forward and show some leadership on this, we're all going to be in trouble."

The city plans to erect more warning signs this year in dumping "hot spots" such as dead-end roads.It's also looking at increasing fines for illegal dumping.

Shannon Clohosey, the city's sustainability manager, says the problem isnot just pop cans and dirty diapers.

"It's everything.We find furniture.We find appliances, electronic waste.We've found barrels of oil;we've found old meat.It's the whole spectrum of materials."

Clohosey said some waste is especially damaging to the environment, and expensive to clean up such as the barrel of oil that was left near the downtown community garden last year, and spilled.

"It was a big expensive issue," Clohosey said.

"We will be looking at our waste management bylaw, and looking at options to steepen the fines.

"Some municipalities are taking this quite seriously and fines are more in the thousands of dollars."

E-waste a growing problem

The cityfirst wants to get a better handle on the problem, by collecting information about what's being dumped, and where.Clohoseysays that's where watchfulresidents can help.

"You know, we have a very active community that's out on the trails quite a bit so we'd like to take advantage of all those eyes out there and hear about where they've seen illegal dumping."

Clohosey also says "illegal dumping" does not just refer to piles of trash in the bush. It's also illegal to dump trash into someone else's bin or dumpster, orconcealelectronic and hazardous waste headed forthe landfill.

"We've found explosives up at the waste management facility," she said.

Electronic waste has become a particular problem, whether it's the laptop that's hidden in someone's household trash, or the growing number of computers, printers, and TVs found tossed in the bush.

Right now, Yukoners must pay a fee to dispose such items at the landfill.

The territorial government presented a plan earlier this year to introduce newrecyclingfees on electronicsat point-of-purchase, meaning it would then be free tobring those products to the dump.

But last week the plan was shelved, to allow for more consultation with business owners.