The old Lafarge lands along the southern most section of Silvercreek Parkway has become a popular destination for dog walkers, and for trash dumpers.
The site of a proposed Silvercreek Guelph Development Ltd. commercial redevelopment, which has not got off the ground, the expansive site is being used to illegally dump a variety of things, including old bricks and other masonry products, mattresses, and yard waste.
An embankment immediately inside the former gravel pit’s south end, and close to the railroad, is filled with cut shrubbery, leaves and other yard waste, posing a fire hazard.
Doug Godfrey, Guelph’s manager of bylaw compliance and security, said dumping of any kind of material, whether on a privately-owned vacant lot, in a city park, ditch, or on a curbside, is against the city bylaw.
He said dumping is quite common, is relatively easy to trace back to its origins, and can come with a summons to appear in court to face charges. There is no set fine amount.
This week, Godfrey said that in a recent 14-day period there had been 27 calls related to illegal dumping in the city.
“We always see an increase in the activity in the spring,” Godfrey said.
He said it is common for residents to report mattresses, furniture, and household garbage left on boulevards, particularly in developing areas of the city.
“We attend to every call, and make efforts to investigate where it came from,” he said. “We are quite successful at finding those who dumped the items.”
Residents can purchase a ticket to have large, unwanted items removed from their homes, placing them on the curb and making the arrangements to have them picked up by the city. But many choose instead to dump the stuff and leave it to others to deal with it.
The dumping bylaw applies to private and public land, Godfrey said. The city enforces both.
Bylaw enforcement has had occasion to respond to dumping on the former Lafarge lands, he added. Items have been removed from the site, and charges have been laid in connection to it.
The city’s 311GIS app is one way to report incidents of illegal dumping. Visit http://guelph.ca/how-can-we-help-you/map-app/ to learn more about it. Or
you can call Guelph’s Bylaw Compliance and Enforcement office at 519-837-2529, 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
The former IMICO site along Stevenson and Beverley streets is also used for dumping. One area along the site has a large amount of yard waste piling up.
Some Grand River Conservation Area sites, particularly unpaid nature reserve areas like Marden Tract and Starkey Hill, have trash illegally dumped along their parking sites. A GRCA spokesperson said this week it is currently not a major concern.
