Council’s treatment of lake association’s proposals to curb littering criticized

On October 15 members of Carson Trout Lepine and Greenan Lakes Association (CTLG Lakes) conducted their semi-annual clean-up along Siberia Road, one of their roads under the Adopt-A-Road program. The count of illegally-dumped items and roadside litter was on a  par with last fall’s clean-up at three full bags of waste and recycling with beer and alcohol containers topping the list of recyclables, followed by plastic water bottles and pop cans. This is despite the posting of a sign warning of fines since the last clean-up.

CTLG Lakes volunteers ready for fall clean-up; anti-littering signage

The clean-up followed a discussion on October 1 by Madawaska Valley Council when it considered a suggestion made earlier this year by CTLG Lakes through Wendy Wolak, its Vice-President. This was that it might reduce littering if a municipal garbage truck was positioned at scheduled times at various convenient locations (including near commercial tourism developments) to serve sections of the township located far from a waste site. A secondary benefit of her suggestion was that it would also assist residents who have to travel long distances to the municipal waste sites.

The suggestion was first considered by Council in Committee on May 7 when it decided that it would be appropriate for the Public Liaison Committee (PLC) to look into it. The PLC subsequently asked Wolak to conduct a survey to gauge residents’ views. CTLG Lakes agreed to take on that task, resulting in members led by Wolak devoting a considerable amount of time to preparing one. Wolak also made a personal contribution of $300 towards the cost. The survey was finalized after input from the township CAO but it was left to Wolak herself to promote it as the township offered no assistance. That lack of assistance limited the number of potential respondents.

The survey yielded the following notable results:

• 74 percent of respondents agreed or strongly agreed that 15 km or more was too far to travel to a waste site.
• 68 percent of respondents said they would find it helpful or extremely helpful to have a truck situated nearby.

Click HERE to see the full survey report presented to Council. 

Against this background, the subject came before Council in Committee when it met on October 1. At this meeting, although the subject of waste disposal including curbside pick-up for all was discussed, the topic of how to reduce illegal dumping and littering was ignored. No reference was made to the reason behind the survey or the implications of the survey results. In response to the survey findings that 15 km or more was “too far to travel to a waste site”, Councillor Carl Bromwich who chairs the Operations Committee, retorted, “I drive 45 km to the dump — to Bark Lake from Wilno. That’s a return trip, 45 – not 15.” (He subsequently declined to explain this statement in light of the fact that his home in Wilno is less than 4 km from the transfer station located there.)

He also said, “We have discussed it ad nauseam for how many councils and it has always come out at the same conclusion: we can’t afford it.” The Current wrote to him asking for clarification of his comments including his references to “astronomical costs” and discussions “ad nauseam” as they relate to the suggestion of parking a truck at scheduled stops, given that this appears to be the first time that this suggestion has ever been made. He replied, refusing to answer our questions unless The Current presented them at a public Council meeting.  (Residents should note that one of the first things this council did was to throw out the public question period at meetings.)

Wolak was not surprised. She said, “Councillor Carl Bromwich has not wavered in his comments since the spring, his response to our proposal has been consistent.”

She told The Current she was very disappointed at the outcome of the meeting:

“The point here was missed. To clarify our position, our association was never looking for exclusive rural garbage collection let alone curbside pickup. In fact, the purpose of the survey was to reach out to all residents of the Madawaska Valley Township to determine if the distance to a waste site was inconvenient and could it be a contributing factor to the illegal dumping that is happening throughout the valley. Therefore would it be beneficial making waste disposal more accessible to folks who live 15 plus km from a waste site as a possible solution? One recommendation we put forth for consideration was a pilot program making a truck available at scheduled days and times throughout the valley.

The only time illegal dumping was mentioned was when Councillor Bromwich complained about bags of garbage left outside the waste site gate for probable reasons that people don’t want to tag their bags.”

Some CTLG Lakes members commented that it is sad to see such dismissive consideration given to the hard work and dedication of  public spirited  volunteers on an issue that should be of concern to all residents and taxpayers. Apropos of this, on October 21 Jeff Yurek, Minister of the Environment, Conservation and Parks, released a statement to mark the start of Waste Reduction Week in Canada: “Waste Reduction Week is an opportunity to celebrate our environmental efforts, encourage innovative ideas and solutions, and help us all to start thinking in a more environmentally conscious way. Ontarians want to play a part in a healthy environment.”

Note: The Current’s editor is a director of CTLG Lakes.