Cape Breton Post

TRASH TALK

Jill Ellsworth’s Gen Y Not column takes a stand against illegal dumping.

- Jill Ellsworth Jill Ellsworth is an action sports writer who lives in Dominion. Her column appears monthly in the Cape Breton Post. She can be reached at jillellswo­rth94@gmail.com.

“It has been inspiring to me to see Dylan and others take a stand and try to put an end to illegal dumping and littering here in Cape Breton. While it may seem like a David and Goliath battle for now, every piece of trash picked up counts for something.”

Many of my columns have touched on how scenic Cape Breton is, and how thankful I am to live on an island that offers us such beautiful landscapes, trails, and beaches. Unfortunat­ely,; it seems that not everyone is interested in keeping it that way.

I spoke to Dylan Yates, a friend and fellow Cape Bretoner who is passionate about putting an end to an ugly problem here on the island — illegal dumping.

Illegal dumping is the act of discarding waste in an improper and illegal manner, in places where it doesn’t belong. The likelihood of environmen­tal damage due to improper disposal is extremely high, and if the hideous piles of garbage aren’t enough to put you off, illegal dumping also poses a huge health risk to both animals and humans.

Over the past year, Dylan has been organizing community cleanups in an effort to lower the amount of garbage in our environmen­t, as well as educate others on the impact illegal dumping can have. He says during the four cleanup events, volunteers removed more than 200 bags of trash from various trails and beaches. Dylan has encountere­d everything from household garbage, to commercial waste, and even toxic products being dumped just feet away from watersheds during one cleanup in the Sand Lake Road area.

“The fines for illegal dumping are low, and often people are getting away with a slap on the wrist,” he says. “Not enough resources are being put in place to combat the issue.”

He says it’s often difficult to get volunteers to participat­e in the cleanups, as many people believe it’s not their job to clean other people’s garbage. While this may be true, Dylan believes with a small amount of teamwork, a big difference can be made.

Dylan says the social impact is just as dishearten­ing as the environmen­tal damage. During one cleanup, he spoke to a family who enjoyed taking walks along a particular trail in memory of their father, but were stuck witnessing the garbage take over what used to be a place of solace and beauty.

Dylan’s hope is that with more community awareness and support, stricter laws and repercussi­ons will be implemente­d for those caught disposing of garbage illegally.

For more informatio­n and to find out about future community cleanups, join the Facebook group “Cape Breton Environmen­tal Conservati­on.”

It has been inspiring to me to see Dylan and others take a stand and try to put an end to illegal dumping and littering here in Cape Breton. While it may seem like a David and Goliath battle for now, every piece of trash picked up counts for something. Working together over time is the only way to combat a problem like this.

As an island that promotes itself so heavily as a stunning tourist destinatio­n, do we really want people to visit Cape Breton and see that it’s turning into a giant landfill? Seems like false advertisin­g to me.

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 ?? SUBMITTED PHOTO/JILL ELLSWORTH ?? Garbage collected by volunteers during an October cleanup organized by Dylan Yates.
SUBMITTED PHOTO/JILL ELLSWORTH Garbage collected by volunteers during an October cleanup organized by Dylan Yates.
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