ILLEGAL DUMPING

LOCAL

Community cleanup today on Sand Lake Road.

A Glace Bay man is talking trash.

Dylan Yates said he’s appalled by the illegal dumping in the Cape Breton Regional Municipality and has started a Facebook group ‘Stop Illegal Dumping in the CBRM’ to bring attention to the issue.

“We already have about 50 who have joined,” he said. “The group is to bring awareness to the issue of illegal dumping that’s ongoing through the CBRM. We are trying to find more people really interested in doing something about it.”

Yates, 26, is encouraging people who see illegal dumps to take photos and post them to the Facebook group’s site.

“If people upload photos and name the location then we can report it and as a team can take it upon ourselves to organize cleanups of some of these areas.”

Yates, a recent graduate of the natural resources environmental technology program at the Nova Scotia Community College in Port Hawkesbury, organized a community cleanup on Tower Road in May.

“We ended up with 30 big bags of garbage,” he said. “It’s amazing what a few people getting together for two hours can do.”

Today, a community cleanup of Sand Lake Road will begin at 10 a.m.

“My energy level is not as good as usual but I will still be out there,” said Yates, who is battling cancer. “The road has been victim to various illegal

dumping activities. The residents are fed up. Nothing seems to be being done about it.”

Yates said the CBRM will pick up the bags of garbage.

Sometimes Yates will go through bags of illegally dumped garbage to look for evidence of the owner and will report them.

He said people probably don’t realize the impact illegal dumping has on the ecosystem, how it negatively impacts plants and wildlife.

“Many birds and small animals die after ingesting or becoming entangled in debris. Fish and other aquatic species are often killed when decomposing litter and food wastes in streams deplete oxygen supplies in water.”

He said debris in streams can also clog fish spawning areas and toxic runoff from improper disposal of toxic substances such as household cleaners and motor oil can contaminate lakes, streams and drinking water supplies.

He said debris such as plastics can make their way to the oceans by the wind or travelling through rivers and fish and whales and other marine

species often become entangled and die a slow painful death.

As well Yates said illegal dumping puts property values down and affects the tourism industry.