Special Regina council meeting to discuss 'astounding' garbage issue rescheduled

A special city council meeting to address Regina's garbage problem has been rescheduled to April 20 due to technical difficulties.

Thursday's meeting was scheduled for 11 a.m. and it didn't begin until noon. Council heard homeowner and property owner Orion Paradis speak and after brief questioning from council, the meeting was rescheduled.

The meeting was meant to address the issue of overwhelming litter, loose garbage and illegally dumped items in Regina's street and back alleys.

Couns. Andrew Stevens and Dan Leblanc originally put forward the clean communities motion last April and it will be discussed Thursday.

City council pushed back the motion last month due to other topics running long.

Stevens said the issue was present when he was the councillor for the Heritage community. When the boundaries for his ward changed to include Ward 3, which includes North Central, the issue was very apparent.

"It was astounding how terrible the issue was, [there was] everything from garbage strewn around to not just litter, illegal dumping, piles of needles and other drug paraphernalia," he said. "It was a problem that seemed to be getting worse and it's certainly on the top of people's minds come spring when the snow melts away."

LISTEN | Coun. Andrew Stevens spoke with Morning Edition host Stefani Langenegger about the clean communities motion: 

Stevens said the issue is more than just unsightly yards or alleys, it is also a public health issue that erodes the "value and quality of the community." 

There is a litter cleanup every spring and has been for years. He wants to expand it. 

Stevens suggested council look at expanding the service levels for certain communities, as well as stricter enforcement of bylaws for illegal dumping.

"Maybe people don't have the money to take couches and refrigerators and other large items away. Mattresses especially get piled up," he said. "That's a service solution, so we're going to look at an existing service and [propose] expanding it throughout the spring, summer and fall."

Another solution is an expedited enforcement process for private properties whose owners do not keep their yards clean.

"Bylaw officials will conduct thousands of inspections in the course of a year. We want to see that process go from, in some cases, weeks or months of notice to an actual consequence, [to] something compressed in two or three weeks," Stevens said. "As you can imagine, it can be difficult to regulate and demand that residents do particular things with their property. But we can.

"Is it difficult? Yes. Is it impossible? No."

When asked why this issue persists, Stevens suggested some of the trash might be due to people who are rummaging through bins to look for items to recycle at Sarcan.

"That's a socioeconomic issue. If we're talking needles, clearly that's an addiction and consumption use issues," he said, acknowledging these issues will not be solved with this particular approach.

When it comes to illegal dumping, he said he believes it is a simple lack of respect.

"I know for a fact this happens, [some] people don't have much respect for certain communities and they'll think, 'well, it's just a garbage dump and I'm going to drive my materials from my basement, I just did some renos and I'm going to take it over to North Central'," Stevens said. "That happens all too frequently."

The motion will be further discussed on April 20 at 1 p.m. The city said it will not be livestreamed for the public to watch.