Two Mission residents and a city councillor intervened to stop a man from dumping drywall in Steelhead this weekend.
The incident occurred along Dewdney Trunk Road on Saturday, Oct. 16, approximately 4.2 kilometres away from the Mission Landfill.
Coun. Mark Davies was driving by and noticed two residents forcing a man to clean up the “equivalent of two full pickup loads” of drywall dumped on the side of the road.
“I spent the next 45 minutes watching that gentleman shovel drywall back into his trailer in the pouring rain,” Davies said. “I am truly grateful for the two residents.”
Photos taken by Davies show the man shovelling the drywall back into a truck trailer, which had a decal from a Surrey landscaping maintenance business. He also took photos of the man’s driver’s licence.
Davies said the man had been turned away from the Mission Landfill.
He brought up the incident during a council meeting on Oct. 18, and asked if there was anything more the city could do to stop illegal dumping.
Mayor Paul Horn said they need to be “on the ball” about communicating their dumping policies.
The Mission Landfill is only allowed to accept waste from residents who live within the Fraser Valley Regional District, according to its website.
Coun. Jag Gill commented that residents along Dewdney Trunk Road have previously voiced concern about illegal dumping in the area, and have complained about a lack of fines being issued.
But increasing bylaw or police presence in the rural area is “far-fetched,” said Coun. Cal Crawford.
He said raising awareness in the community is the best defence, adding the response from Davies and the other residents is a good example.
Horn agreed that communicating vigilance in the neighbourhood is a good option.
“Every single person nowadays is carrying surveillance equipment,” Horn said. “If you think that you’re going to do something like this and not get noticed, you’ve probably been inhaling the drywall.”