Construction waste dumped in North End lot frustrates neighbour

A man who lives in Winnipeg's North End says he's fed up with a construction company that has been dumping waste materials in a vacant lot behind the Sutherland Hotel for the past two years.

"About a year after I moved here the company left there and that field was just full of grass and weeds," said Michael Soltes, who lives on Austin Street.

​"Then all of a sudden some construction place called Smashers [Demolition] started coming in there with truck after truck after truck ... filling our neighbourhood full of junk."

We shouldn't have to look at it.- Michael Soltes

Soltes has seen people going into the yard at all hours to scavenge the scrap metal.

"They climb the fence constantly all night long and they go down the street and they cash stuff in to get their booze and drugs," said Soltes. "We shouldn't have to look at it .... It's windy. It blows all around our area. We don't want it."

'It's not zoned for a scrap yard'

Soltes has asked the company why they're dumping trash in his neighbourhood. He's filed complaints with ​the city, which prompted a visit from Mynarski ward Coun. Ross Eadie on Monday.

"My executive assistant here will be getting in contact with zoning bylaw to first determine if this is an illegal use," said Eadie.

"I think it is, because it's not zoned for a scrap yard. It is zoned for some industrial use, but it's not for garbage."

If caught dumping garbage illegally in Winnipeg, Eadie said a company can be fined up to $50,000.​

"What they should be doing is not hauling into their yard here," said Eadie. "They should be hauling into the Brady landfill."

An hour after Eadie's visit, crews from the company showed up and started throwing the construction materials into a dumpster and the back of a truck.

"We've instructed them to put things in the bins," a spokesperson with the company said. "Until we hear anything from the City of Winnipeg, no comment."

But tensions were high between Soltes and the crew. Police were called to the site to make sure things didn't get out of hand.

Soltes is hoping to see the space cleaned up and no longer used as a dumping zone.

"It's not right. Sure, there is a lot of commercial stuff around here, but this is a community where people live," said Soltes.

"Yesterday we had a parade down here from a Portuguese church with probably a couple thousand people. Why should they have to look at that? We shouldn't have to look at it."