Dear Editor:

As an environmentally conscious and concerned resident of Niagara-on-the-Lake, I would like to bring an illegal dumping problem to everyone’s attention. I’m sure that anyone who enjoys the beautiful parks at The Commons has observed the illegal dumping that takes place at the parking lots that lead into the Commons (East end of John Street, John Street/Charlotte Street and the Kinsmen parking lot garbage cans). It is a disgrace and is becoming a more frequent occurrence.

Attached is a picture of the garbage can at the parking lot at the east end of John Street, that leads to the Commons, that was taken on Tuesday, Sept. 10 at 5 p.m. This picture depicts a common scene at these garbage cans usually on Monday and Tuesdays.

I walk my dog on a regular basis at the Commons, and have seen everything from small household appliances, carpets, clothes, used electronics and bags of household garbage dumped at the garbage cans in the parking lots over the years. I can only imagine how frustrating this must be for the town employees who are responsible for emptying the garbage cans and also have to deal with the mess from illegal dumping — not to mention all of the other obvious negative effects this practice has on the wildlife, environment and all of the visitors to the park.

My burning questions are, who is dumping their garbage in our parks, why are they dumping, and why aren’t we doing anything about it? There are many ways available to all of us to dispose of our garbage appropriately, this is not one of them.

Certainly this must be a concern for the Town of Niagara on the Lake and Parks Canada. Perhaps The Town of Niagara on the Lake and Parks Canada could collaborate on a solution to this problem. It’s not going to resolve itself on it’s own.

Sincerely,

Maureen Dodd