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Winnipeg Free Press - PRINT EDITION
Landlord adds surveillance cam to nab autobin-dumping scofflaws
Leon Wieler is fed up with contractors and others dumping items like renovation waste in his Sherbrook Street lane. (KEN GIGLIOTTI / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS) Photo Store
If you're thinking of skipping a trip to the landfill to dump your trash in a city autobin, one West End landlord hopes you're ready to smile for the camera.
Three weeks ago, Sherbrook Street resident Leon Wieler was so fed up with his trash-strewn back alley that he took the unusual step of erecting a dumpster cam.
Wieler installed a surveillance camera on a neighbour's garage in an attempt to catch people who drive in from other parts of the city to dump bulky items such as mattresses and sinks in the area's autobins. The longtime resident said it's nearly impossible to keep the back lane clean and he already has 10 DVDs full of video evidence that show about one dozen scofflaws a week using the autobins to dump trash that should go to the landfill.
"Right now we have two dumpsters in our lane that have more garbage beside them than in them," he said.
Wieler has taken down the licence plates of all the vehicles he's caught in the act and forwarded the video evidence to the city.
He said he would like to see the city do more to educate citizens on how to get rid of waste that's not fit to go in their regular trash can. People who flout the rules should face stiffer fines, he said.
It's tricky to nab illegal dumpers since bylaw enforcement officers have to catch people in the act to issue a ticket.
Darryl Drohomerski, the city's manager of solid waste services, said Wieler is not alone in his frustration and he's heard of several area apartment-block owners who have set up similar cameras. Illegal dumping in autobins is the second-most common complaint the city received about garbage during recent public consultations, Drohomerski said.
There are about 4,900 autobins in Winnipeg, and the city is currently considering a plan to replace them with automated carts by the middle of 2012.
If the plan is approved by city council, Drohomerski said, he expects residents in autobin neighbourhoods should see a huge drop in the amount of illegal dumping.
He also said the city plans to do more education to inform citizens about what items are suitable for Winnipeg's bulk-waste pickup service and other things ---- such as home-renovation waste -- that should go straight to the Brady Road landfill.
Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition September 16, 2011 A11
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