The illegal dumping of garbage continues to get under Councillor Brian Thompson’s skin. He was forwarded a photo by a constituent showing illegal dumping at Yonge Street and Town Line and says that a $500 fine under Huntsville’s current bylaw might be too little.
“If we made it a really significant fine, let’s say for instance it was $2000… then somebody is going to think twice,” he reasoned.
According to the District Municipality of Muskoka’s landfill disposal fee guide you can take up to three regular-sized garbage bags to the dump for free. After that it’ll cost you $2.50 per bag and 11 or more standard sized garbage bags will cost you $130/tonne. There are also costs for the disposal of commercial waste and most compost can be disposed of for free.
See the schedule of fees here. You can also read the bylaw by turning to page six here.
Thompson thinks that’s affordable by most standards.
It’s ridiculous to dump stuff when it costs so little to get rid of it at the landfill site
Huntsville Councillor Brian Thompson
What the Town’s bylaw officer says:
Thompson has become a crusader against illegal dumping as of late, having forwarded two photos to the Town’s bylaw enforcement department in the last few months. One contained a prescription bottle with the name of the patient. But according to Huntsville Bylaw Enforcement Officer Corey Crewson, the name was a common one and staff was unable to track down its owner. Although he did say three or four people have been charged under the bylaw since he’s been with the municipality during the past three years or so.
The bylaw applies to Town-owned property such as a road allowance or beach area and staff will rummage through the garbage to find something that might identify the culprit.
In terms of increasing the fine, Crewson said it may work. He also noted that the courts have the ability to increase the fine up to $5,000 if the person is a repeat offender.
Thompson said he would bring the issue back to council for further discussion at its Regular Council meeting taking place this Monday in Port Sydney.
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Our neighbourhood has also become a dump site for many larger items which are not accepted by Waste Management in Muskoka. Although we would never condone this type of approach to waste disposal, just maybe, we can use these situations to help us improve Waste Management strategies in our own community.
Perhaps it’s time to re-evaluate our current system of garbage pick-up. We need to consider that there are folks who do not have the means or the ability to transfer items to the dump which have been declined by our present pick-up system. Many communities do not require a homeowner to make a one hour round trip to a municipal garbage dump in order to dispose of larger items, as we do here in Muskoka.
I’m sure there must be a solution to minimizing or eradicating wanton dumping besides levying a fine. This has obviously proven to be ineffective.
Calling a HOTLINE for curb-side pick-up of larger items would be convenient;
Purchasing a tag for ‘specialized’ items would be helpful;
Having a spring/fall community clean-up day may be the answer.
Hopefully, our elected officials will find a suitable solution to improving Waste Management in Huntsville (Muskoka).
Huntsville’s bylaw office is totally ineffective at enforcing any bylaws. Calls and complaints are routinely ignored, promises of letters and follow ups never happen, public safety issues are not addressed, and the current system of requiring the public to sign complaints before the officers act is a joke. What use are the bylaws if there is no intention of enforcement?
The effectiveness of any law or by-laws is a function of the severity of the punishment and the perceived probability of being caught. In spite of having two by-laws officers (I believe) Huntsville collects virtually no fines.
Seems to me that you could make the fine millions of dollars and if no one thought that they were going to get caught (which certainly would be reasonable in Huntsville) the problem can’t be fixed with a by-law.
Mr Thompson then is just whistling in the wind