680 kg in trash illegally dumped in 1 day at conservation areas: ERCA
Essex authority urges contacting police non-emergency line or Park Watch if you see illegal dumping
Workers with the Essex Region Conservation Authority (ERCA) had to pick up bags of used kitty litter off the parking lot of the Tremblay Beach Conservation Area on Monday — among other illegal dumping.
Someone also dropped a load of construction material in the parking lot at the Devonwood Conservation Area.
In total, 680 kilograms of garbage had to be picked up at the southwestern Ontario sites, in the worst dumping the ERCA has ever seen.
"What this does is it uses up our staff's time and it really detracts from the experience for all the other visitors. So we're encouraging people not to do that kind of activity," said Kevin Money, director of conservation services with ERCA.
Jim Randall, who was at Devonwood on Tuesday, called the garbage-dumping problem appalling.
"People use this as a dumping ground for whatever they don't want to put out at the curb, and I don't know why they do that. It's disgusting."
When speaking with CBC News, Randall referenced a truck in the parking lot he believed was responsible for dumping garbage in the park's bins.
CBC has not verified the allegation, but Money said he would be contacting police about it.
ERCA also wants people to stop pinning artwork on trees at Kopegaron Woods and McAuliffe Woods.
"That type of material such as bird boxes or various wreaths and things like that, they don't actually belong in our areas, because there is some harm to wildlife potentially associated with that," said Money.
ERCA is urging anyone witnessing garbage dumping to contact police using a non-emgergency number, or by calling the number on the Park Watch signs in conservation areas.
With files from Dale Molnar