City of Flin Flon leadership is advising people against dumping their garbage in non-landfil areas, citing hefty provincial fines for anyone caught doing so.
During city council’s Sept. 3 meeting in the public question and answer period, questions were asked by the public about the City’s recent garbage bylaw amendment. The bylaw, which was given approval by council last month, imposes a limit on how many full-sized garbage bags will be picked up during standard weekly City garbage rounds. According to the bylaw, garbage crews will now only pick up a maximum of four bags per household, with any extra bags only eligible for pickup if the homeowner buys a three dollar bag tag from the City. In total, the new rules cap garbage pickup at around 160 pounds per household per week.
When discussed, one member of the public was concerned that the bag cap, along with tipping fees at the Flin Flon landfill, would encourage people to litter more, dumping individual items or even full bags of garbage in the area around Flin Flon.
“When you go around the Trout Lake Road, there are hiking trails back there where people go walking, there’s snowshoe trails, snowmobile trails. People go blueberry picking in there. There’s an area right where the power line goes through because it’s all covered with trash, garbage,” said the attendee, who did not identify himself at the meeting.
“Not only are dead trees going back there and lawn waste, there are plastic pails, plastic garbage, almost anything you can find in the dump. I can take anybody for a tour to see this stuff - there’s a refrigerator back there. There’s a fresh pile of brush that someone dumped from town - there’s a full length exhaust system, muffler, tail pipe, laying on the pile.”
Fontaine said that the introduction of a new bylaw should not encourage people to dump trash illegally.
“I think arseholes are arseholes,” said Fontaine.
“I don’t know about people doing this, even if the dump is open and everything’s free. I watched someone cut a bunch of trees down, then I went for a bike ride the next day. Where did I see all the trees? Exactly where you’re talking about.”
Fontaine expressed hope that people wouldn’t dump trash near the town, but said that the City would work with conservation officers and the provincial Department of Environment and Climate Change to make sure that doesn’t happen and to find and remove piles of trash. There will be no tipping fees in effect for the Flin Flon landfill between Sept. 21 and Oct. 6, allowing free landfill access for people living in Flin Flon with no additional charge.
“In my opinion, it’s up to both of us,” said Fontaine, referring to the City and the province.
Under provincial law, people caught dumping garbage outside landfills can be fined up to $5,000 for a first offence.
Almost every community in Manitoba has a limit on how many bags will be picked up per home per week, with most smaller than the new one imposed in Flin Flon.
In The Pas, the Town of the Pas limits pickup to two garbage bags per week, outlined in local bylaws as a 26-inch-by-36-inch bag capable of holding around 25 pounds of trash. The City of Winnipeg picks up one 240-litre cart each of garbage and recycling per week, using automated pickup trucks to dump the trash from carts. The Town of Stonewall has a limit of two bags per week per residence, while the Town of Altona limits people to one garbage bag or 114-litre bin per week. The City of Selkirk and Town of Pinawa also have two-bag limits.
