Tired of the trash: Ward 10 residents want to see an end to illegal dumping

The city needs to do more to address illegal dumping along SouthCameron Boulevard, according to residents in Windsor's Ward 10.

Steffani Talbot has lived on the boulevard for years and enjoys it for its natural beauty and wildlife but said the illegal dumping which occurs along the road is upsetting.

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"In the residential area, between my house and up towardsDougall, you sometimes see garbage bags, you sometimes see mattresses, furniture," she explained.

"It's disappointing and it makes me angry, because I feel that a lot of the times, it's not the neighbours that live here, it's people who come from different neighbourhoods and dump."

'Shouldn't happen'

She said she'd like to see the city do more to address the issue.

Fellow resident Philip Hansliensaid he's seen couches, chairs and even roof shingles in the ditches along the road.

"This is a park-like area, if you could look around the area here, you can't even see the railroad tracks, there's so much overgrowth here, it's beautiful, it's like a park," he said, but added that the garbage brings the area down.

"It's something that shouldn't happen. Any street in the city shouldn't have to put up with that."

'Not one of the worst'

But the City of Windsor saidthis is a problem throughout the municipality, not just SouthCameron Blvd.

Anne-Marie Albidone, manager of environmental services for thecity, said the boulevard is known to her for its illegal dumping.

"It is a common area, but it's probably not one of the worst ones that we have to deal with."

She explained that the maintenance division of the city normally maintains the ditches, but that every couple of months, her department is called to South Cameron Blvd.to assistwith clearing out bulky items like couches or chairs left in the ditches.

There are other options

"It gets really frustrating for us because we have a public drop off facility that's open sixdays a week right now, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. You bring in a chair or a couch, and it's probably going to cost you $5to drop that off. So why people choose to dump them illegally in a ditch or on a vacant property or at the end of a dead end street is really mind-boggling," Albidonesaid.

She added the city also has a bulk waste pick-up program, which many people are using but nonetheless, some people still choose to dump illegally.

She also explained that the city relieson the public to call themwhen the problems occurso that crews can address the issues whenever they come up.

Albidone said the city is working on setting up cameras across the city to monitor illegal dumping, and that SouthCameron Blvd. is one of the areas being considered to monitor.

Hansliensaid he'd love to see that happen on his street in the hopes that it will hold people accountable.