Prolonged dump closure on Bell Island has residents fuming over piled-up waste

Residents on Bell Island want full control over their own waste management after a nearly five-month closure to the island's only waste recovery facility sparked a spate of illegal dumpingin recent weeks, according to the Town of Wabana.

The facility is operated by the Eastern Regional Service Board. Similar facilities began to crop upin 2012 as part of the province'swaste management strategyto replace43 unregulated dump sites around the Eastern region and more than 200 overall across Newfoundland and Labrador.

Bell Island's opened in 2021. Before then, the community took great pride in operating its own dump site without issue

"Residents can't be expected to keep their garbage in their sheds or in their yards for six months," town manager Jordan Blackwood told CBC News on Wednesday.

"You tell people in St. John's that you're closing down Robin Hood Bay for six months,you tell people in St. John's to keep garbage in their sheds or in their yards for six months, guaranteed you're going to see it all over the city, just like we're seeing it over here."

The "transferstation"takesoversized, non-perishable bulk garbage items that are not usually accepted by regular municipal curbside collections. TheTown of Wabana contracts outitsown curbside waste collection and has one free bulk garbage pick up each year.

But Blackwood says the extended closureis forcing residents to take matters into their own hands, often dumping their garbage just a few hundred feet away from the facility at the previously operated municipal dump site.

He said he doesn't condone illegal dumpingbut understands why people are doing it.

Gerry Dwyer has lived on the island his entire life. He said he hasn't seen anything like the current garbage situation and is asking for compassion from the ERSB.

"Over the years we've had all kinds of struggles, but this is the most ridiculous struggle that I've think we've ever had," he said.

"The waste facility is locked up. There has been a break-in down there, and it's pretty sad when you got to break into the dump to get rid of your garbage."

Safety concerns

The ERSB site on Bell Island had been open three days a week, two of themfour-hour days. It's closed for four months over the winter because of low usage and high operating costs, the board said in a statement to CBC News.

The site closed Dec. 19 and was expected to reopen April 6. However, the board said vandalismdelayed that and deemed the site unsafe for public use. The shelter, where the sole employee works, had its windows broken and areas of chain link fence were cut open. The board said repairs are continuing.

But Blackwood takes issue with the timeline for repairs since the vandalism took place nearly a month ago and said keeping the site closed is causing its own safety problems.

WATCH | Why Bell Island has trash strewn about, according to the town manager:

Let us control our own dump, demand Bell Island councillors and residents

5 months ago

Duration 1:33

The dump on Bell Island has been closed for five months, and residents and councillors say its caused a mess, with people having to keep trash in their sheds or yards. The issue is the facility is operated by the Eastern Regional Service Board to streamline unregulated dump sites. But town manager Jordan Blackwood tells the CBCs Mike Moore its time for the town to take it back.

"We had a fire here a couple of weeks ago. Firemen could not access this facility to properly extinguish the fire, we had to go over there to the side," he said, pointing to a dirt road flanked by a steep embankment.

"We had [another] fire down here a couple of months ago, an illegal dump site, explosives, propane tanks, it could blow someone's head off."

The ERSBsaid the repairs are compelled to follow environmental and occupational safety guidelines and must go through a tendering process, which is being vetted.

"The real issue is that vandalism does not stop.Illegal dumping is a continuous issue on Bell Island even when BIWRF is open," the statement reads.

Numbers game

The site saw 680 customers between April and December 2022, averaging $57.03 per visit, according to the ERSB.

The site didopen for the full year in2021, but a snapshotfrom February to Marchcounted only 25 visits at a cost of $79.15 per visit, on top of snow-clearing costs.

The board said those costs are simply not sustainable or fiscally responsible. Closing during the winter ensures it can reopen in the spring. The siteoperates at no cost to the residents.

The board also noted the Cavendish Waste Recovery Facility in central Newfoundlandalso closes for the winter months due to low usage and high operating costs.

But Blackwood and residents of the island have heardenoughand are planning to stagea protest at the waste site on Saturday to call for its reopening.

"This facility is deemed to be unsafe. I don't see anything unsafe about it," he said from outside the front gate.

"We've been fighting this fight for three years. We're getting really concerned with the amount of illegal dump sites on our trails, on the sides of the roads, in the woods, everywhere. It's becoming a really big hazard for a lot of people."

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