Residents Respond to Threat of Dump Closure
The threat of closing the Pugwash dump has prompted a strong reaction on social media.
The Municipality of Cumberland operates the Pugwash Transfer Station on Irishtown Road, the former village landfill site.
The station was closed earlier this week so employees could clean up materials, both in the dump and outside its gate, where people disposed of materials not permitted at the facility.
Ron Moore, Solid Waste / ByLaw Administrator for Cumberland, says residents are “sneaking non-compliant materials onto the site.” He added, “This practice is jeopardizing the future of the site.”
There was a swift reaction from leading volunteers in the community who say management of the facility has been lax and the county needs to do more to protect the area.
In response to the news story posted here, Nancy Burgess-Graham said re-installing signs about the rules and the open times would go a long way to curbing abuse. Burgess-Graham says people turn onto Irishtown Road from Highway 6 with no idea when the dump is open. When they find the station is closed, they often dump their garbage outside the gate. She suggests if people knew the dump was only open on Tuesdays and Saturdays, with a sign at the Highway 6 intersection, they might not travel up Irishtown Road on the other days.
Officials from Pugwash Communities in Bloom agree. People need to know the rules, what you can dump and what you cannot. A sign at the entrance to the facility should make that clear, with notice that abusers will be prosecuted.
The operator of the area’s recycling facility, Keep Garbage Beneficial (KGB) in West Pugwash, says prosecution for violators is most important. Maureen Woodlock says, “Make sure people really are prosecuted, i.e. fined enough to make them think and for the word to get out.”
The site is a popular spot for people scavenging for useful material. Building supplies and renovation material disposed by some, is ofter picked up and used by others.
It is the household garbage, especially chemicals and contaminants like cleaning supplies, paint, etc. that are not welcome and a large part of the county’s concern.
The volunteer voices are saying the county should take these steps before any consideration of closing the facility.
The photo shows the Pugwash Transfer Station following clean-up after a fire in late July.