Illegal dumping in Whitehorse puts strain on condo residents

The City of Whitehorse is asking people to take responsibility for their own garbage, in the hopes of curbing illegal dumping in the city.

The City says it is trying to reach a goal of 50 per cent waste diversion from the landfill this year, but that when people dump their garbage illegally, it makes it harder to reach that goal.

Laura Davidson is no stranger to the city's dumping problem. She says that the dumpster at her condo complexis regularly filled by garbage left by non-residents.

"Ourdumpstersare filled by others," she said,"and the residents and owners end up having to pay for it."

The city is offering solutions to preventing illegal dumping, such as putting locks on dumpsters. However, Davidson said that solution wouldn't work for her complex: there are too many tenants, and too many bins.

"It's very discouraging when people aren't doing the right thing, and aren't contributing to a goal that, really, is for the betterment of the whole community," said Shannon Clohosey, the sustainability manager for the city.

Clohosey says that the City doesn't pick up waste from larger, multi-family buildings, such as Davidson's complex. However, she does say that the city canhelp landlords figure out how to deal with their waste properly.

"We're more than willing to come to your site, and check out what kind of waste you're producing, and what kind of people use that facility, to help figure out what bins you do need, to allow the people who use that facility to deal with that waste properly."