Sofas, chairs, shelving and everything in between was left curbside in South Delta last week during Delta’s annual Spring Clean-Up.
With North Delta’s turn this week, exact numbers are not yet available, but according to the City of Delta, Remple Disposal’s 12 trucks handled typical tonnages for South Delta.
Delta is one of the few jurisdictions in the Lower Mainland that still offers residents an opportunity to place unwanted items on the curb. Port Coquitlam holds its annual garage sale this Saturday, which gives residents a chance to declutter, make some cash and find a new home for reusable items, while Metro Vancouver says other municipalities offer free pick up of up to four large items per household annually.
Hugh Fraser, Delta’s deputy director of engineering, said Spring Clean-Up continues to be popular.
“Residents have expressed appreciation for the service,” said Fraser. “The informal recycle/reuse component results in some items being salvaged and reused.”
According to Fraser, this year’s Spring Clean-Up in South Delta was relatively trouble free, although there were some reports of illegal dumping.
The Optimist received a pair of letters from residents in which construction waste was dumped at their curbs.
Fraser said bylaws staff patrol neighbourhoods in an effort to prevent illegal dumping, placement of material that is not accepted and material that is put out too early.
“Illegal dumping calls are investigated by bylaws staff,” said Fraser. “Material that is illegally dumped on private property is the homeowners’ responsibility, while illegally dumped material on the boulevard is collected by engineering operations.”
Another case of illegal dumping that might be tied to Spring Clean-Up occurred at Ladner Centre.
Resident Carol Stewart stopped for gas at the adjacent Chevron station last Wednesday when she noticed a huge pile of household items had been dumped in front of several charity donation bins. She took photos of the mess, shared them with the Optimist and posted her findings on the Ladner’s Landing Facebook page, which generated immediate outrage from citizens.
Mall management paid to have the area cleaned up Thursday afternoon and was planning to move the bins, possibly removing them entirely from the mall, as this was not the first incident of illegal dumping in front of the bins.
There were also a few reported cases on social media before Spring Clean-Up in South Delta where items not designated to be picked up were scooped up by would-be treasure seekers. Among the items were a mini-trampoline, some bikes and a rolling basketball hoop. Most of the items were returned to their rightful owners.
Delta police say no incidents of theft connected to Spring Clean-Up were reported.
