CASH FOR TRASH

City pushed to look at rewards to fight dumping

Coun. Darren Hill not only wants higher fines than those recently proposed for illegal dumping, he wants to consider offering cash rewards for catching offenders.

City hall administration recommended raising the fine for a firsttime offence for illegal dumping to $500 from $100. The cost of a second offence would jump from $1,000 from $200 if the changes are approved by city council.

At Tuesday ’s meeting of council’s environment, utilities and corporate services committee meeting, Hill said he thought the proposed new fines were too low. He also asked the administration to look into the possibility of financial incentives for turning in people who dump trash illegally.

“Simply asking citizens to report illegal dumping is not going to produce the results we’re looking for,” he said in an interview on Friday.

Hill said the program could be similar to Crime Stoppers — tipsters could remain anonymous and be eligible for money. The city’s property maintenance bylaw, which deals with rundown properties, allows the identities of people who file complaints to remain secret.

The amount of a fine could be raised so it would cover the cost of a reward, Hill said.

His research on the matter found several municipalities in North America that offer rewards for information that identifies illegal dumpers. Richmond, B.C. offers a $200 reward if a tip leads to an illegal dumping conviction.

Sacramento County, California offers a $1,000 reward if information leads to a citation or arrest.

In addition to higher fines, the city is proposing bylaw officers be allowed to issue fines for vehicle owners whose vehicles are found to be involved in illegal dumping.

The city estimates cleaning up after illegal dumping costs about $300,000 a year and is increasing. Some have raised concerns that if the city adopts a user-pay system for trash collection, illegal dumping could increase.