The Sunshine Coast Regional District (SCRD) is inviting all members of the community to participate in the sixth annual Backroad Trash Bash taking place on Saturday, Sept. 16 from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. This year’s event will focus on cleaning up illegal dump sites off forest service roads from Port Mellon to Elphinstone.
Since the event launched in 2012, over 38 tonnes of illegally dumped material has been hauled out of forests and off backroads and disposed of responsibly at the landfill. Each year, an average of 40 to 50 volunteers help clean up a different area of the Sunshine Coast, such as the Halfmoon Bay to Sechelt area in 2015 and Roberts Creek in 2016.
“Some materials that are dumped can be disposed of for free under product stewardship programs such as electronics, tires, lead acid batteries and used paint,” Kara McDougall, waste reduction coordinator, said in a release. “We also find yard waste at dump sites, which can be disposed of for free at one of the SCRD’s residential green waste facilities located at the Pender Harbour Transfer Station, Salish Soils in Sechelt, or at the Gibsons Green Waste Facility.”
For this year’s event, the SCRD is asking community members and businesses to volunteer their time and services to help clean up illegal dump sites and relay the message that dumping waste in the woods is unacceptable.
Sign-in begins at 11 a.m. at the Eric Cardinall Hall at Shirley Macey Park, 930 Chamberlin Rd. in West Howe Sound. Volunteers are treated to a free barbecue lunch and have a chance to win great prizes. To pre-register, email [email protected] or phone 604-885-6806. For more details about the Backroad Trash Bash, visit www.scrd.ca/trashbash.
To learn more about the issue of illegal dumping and how to report dump sites in the region, the SCRD invites the public to view the Stop Illegal Dumping video made in partnership with the Association of Vancouver Island Coastal Communities at www.scrd.ca/stop-illegal-dumping.
Residents are advised to report an illegal dump site to the BC Conservation Service RAPP (Report All Poachers and Polluters) line at 1-877-952-7277 or www.env.gov.bc.ca/cos/rapp/rapp.
– Submitted
