Four mattresses were dumped near the Tranquille Ecological Reserve close to Cinnamon Ridge shortly after an adopt-a-road cleanup last week.
Image Credit: SUBMITTED/Jesse Ritcey
October 09, 2018 - 4:00 PM
KAMLOOPS - Just days after an adopt-a-road clean-up was conducted near the Tranquille Ecological Reserve, four mattresses were dumped next to the park's welcome sign, says Kamloops Naturalist Club director Jesse Ritcey.
"It's a bit frustrating because people know that they are dumping at a park," Ritcey says. "Dumping anywhere is not appropriate but for an area like this we really want to raise awareness and let people know the sensitivity of the area."
Ritcey says the four dumped mattresses were left just off the road and were eventually disposed of by Kamloops city bylaw officers last week.
"Some people dump because they just don't care or they're trying to avoid the fees," Ritcey says, adding to dispose of a mattress there is a $10 disposal fee at city landfills.
Ritcey says they have been working with the city's solid waste services department to find alternative solutions to illegal dumping.
One solution involves creating an "extended producer responsibility" program for bulky items like couches or mattresses.
"We see this quite often for electronics where the cost of recycling the product already comes with it when you purchase it," Ritcey says. "So it would be like returning a mattress or couch for free so that's something we are trying to do."
Ritcey says they are in the process of writing a letter to the Ministry of Environment to see the initiative locally.
"Our members would vote to endorse the letter at our Oct. 18 general meeting," Ritcey says.
For more information on extended producer responsibility in British Columbia go here.
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