ILLEGAL DUMPING IN METRO VANCOUVER
Paul HendersonGENERAL MANAGER, SOLID WASTE SERVICES
RCBC Conference, June 21, 2017
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Illegal Dumping in Metro Vancouver
• Illegally dumped/large item pick-up
• 32,000 mattresses
• 59,000 bulky furniture
• 622 gypsum incidences
• $2.5 million/year in
illegal dumping municipal clean-up
• $2.5 million/year in municipal large item pick-up
costs for Metro Vancouver municipalities
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Metro Vancouver Strategies
• Tipping fee waiver for volunteer
clean-up projects
• Surcharge on unsecured loads
• Data collection on dumping incidents
and costs to member municipalities
• Education & awareness campaign (mid-
2017)
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• Survey findings:
• 60% of residents have dumped illegally
• Main drivers: inconvenience and cost
• 90% of residents want to protect environment, keep community clean and find dumping annoying
• Campaign approach:
• Focus on general public
• Promote municipal programs and highlight how to dump legally
• Key themes – it’s not acceptable and not right
Education & Awareness Campaign
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• Large item pick-up
• Volunteer clean-ups
• City-wide garage sale
• Recycling depots
• Education and advertising
• Hazardous waste collection event or drop-off depots
• Adopt-a-Block, Street, Park, Stream, or Watershed programs
• Cameras in abandoned waste hotspots
Municipal Initiatives & Programs