Toxic waste in vacant lot angers Surrey resident

The city of Surrey is investigating the illegal dumping of tonnes of  toxic trash uncovered by a Panorama Ridge resident in an overgrown vacant lot.

Irma Bijdemast told CBC News the items include motor oil, paint, car tires and more than a dozen broken computers, much of which is banned from local landfills because of their potential to release toxins into the environment.

"I mean this is all toxic stuff, this is. Look at this humungous TV here," said Bijdemast as she looked over the mess dumped near the intersection of Panorama Drive and Highway 10.

"There seems to be a culture that this is okay. And I don't know where it's coming from, but it's got to be stopped. It's just insane," she said.

Bijdemast suspects the waste may have actually been dumped by a trash removal company that didn't want to pay fees to properly dispose of the waste.

"It looks to me with all those amount of computers and TV's it possibly could be small business people or waste people that are taking stuff away from homes, and then because of the cost — I'm not sure if it's the cost they have to pay to dump, that they decide, well it's okay just dump it here — save a few bucks," she said.

City orders clean-up

The City of Surrey has ordered a cleanup by the property owner, which started on Wednesday. City staff are also trying to track where the trash came from.

Mayor Dianne Watts said it could be careless individuals or fraudulent professionals.

"There was some thought that some of the people that are dumping there are actually people that have it as a business that they collect waste, and then instead of paying the dumping fee, they just dump it on vacant land," said Watts.

"We don't take this issue very lightly," she said. "It's a matter of people taking personal responsibility and not dumping."