Illegally dumped junk costs Metro Vancouver $5M yearly

Illegal dumping is currently costing Metro Vancouver $5 million each year — and officials say that number is increasing.

In an attempt to change that, the district has launched a new website to help residents get their waste to the proper disposal facility.

Metro Vancouver's director of solid waste planning, Andrew Marr, says the most common items illegally dumped on the edges of property or in alleyways are mattresses, large furniture and electronics.

"Quite often, people put it outside on a curb, put a sign on it saying 'free,' and then assume someone's going to want it," he told On The Coast guest host Gloria Macarenko.

"They think they're doing the right thing and someone's going to come along and use it. Relatively rare that that's going to happen.

"What's happening quite often is a city crew has to come by and clean it up. But because it disappears, people think someone's come by and made use of it."

Fining people who dump illegally is difficult, Marr says, because they generally have to be caught in the act.

Fines start at $100 but can go up to several thousand, but with almost 40,000 incidents in 2016 alone, Marr doesn't believe they deter people.

He says anyone who wants their old items reused should sell it on a website like Craigslist or check thrift stores or charities to see if they can use those items.

Listen to the full interview:

With files from CBC Radio One's On The Coast