Eyes in the sky appear to help Winnipeg crack down on illegal dumping

Big Brother is helping Winnipeg crack down on illegal dumping — but it's too soon to say whether the city will expand its use of closed-circuit cameras to prevent bulky waste from winding up on public and private property.

A two-year pilot project involving six surveillance cameras has led to dozens of illegal-dumping investigations, five charges and four convictions since the experiment started in April 2016.

The city already considers the project something of a success, as no charges were laid in 2015 for illegal dumping.

"Some areas in the city continue to be impacted by illegal dumping, while some areas have seen no further illegal dumping, or have led to charges," city spokesperson Kailey Barron said Tuesday in a statement.

"We review successful enforcement based on two criteria: actual enforcement statistics and increased public awareness. The pilot project has led to increased education and awareness and more successful prosecutions."

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While city council has already expressed a desire to install more surveillance cameras, officials are still evaluating how well they reduce illegal dumping and whether the program saves the city money, 

Statistically, the results so far are mixed. On the positive side, calls to pick up abandoned bulky waste dropped to 1,715 in 2016 from 2,559 in 2015, Barron said.

On the other hand, calls about debris left in the street increased to 1,883 last year from 1,708 in 2015, while requests to remove objects from lanes, streets or sidewalks increased to 4,285 last year from 3,660 in 2015, Barron said.

Complicating any analysis of these numbers is the fact not all of these reports involve illegal dumping, which the city does not track, she said.​

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North Kildonan resident Victor Toth, whose yard has been a repeated target for illegal dumping, said he's frustrated the city has not done more to combat the practice.

He said he finds dressers, mattresses and other furniture in his back yard on a near-daily basis — and is annoyed the city expects him to pay to have the items removed.

"As soon as one thing is gone, within 24 hours it's usually replaced with another piece of furniture," said Toth, adding he has made repeated reports to the city and area Coun. Jeff Browaty (North Kildonan).

"It sounds bad to get them to clean it up, but what do I pay taxes for? I didn't put these things there and I know someone did, but it's not my responsibility," Toth said. "It would be nice for the city to make an attempt to at least keep the lanes clean."

There are three ways bulky waste can be removed:

• The city subsidizes the removal of legally bulky waste, utilizing solid-waste contractors.
• Complaints about waste left on other people's private property are handled by community bylaw-enforcement officers.
• Public works crews remove items blocking streets and lanes.

Browaty said he supports the use of more closed-circuit cameras to crack down on illegal dumpers. 

"Hopefully, just the threat of it being out there will convince people to do the right thing," he said. "We don't want people illegally dumping. We're trying to make it easy for residents to do the right thing."

The city does not disclose the location of its closed-circuit cameras. The fines for illegal-dumping convictions, as set by courts, have ranged from $100 to $2,000, Barron said.

Two people were charged in 2016 with multiple illegal-dumping offences that were not caught on camera, she said.

Winnipeg crack down on illegal dumping

7 years ago

Duration 1:51

Big Brother is helping Winnipeg crack down on illegal dumping — but it's too soon to say whether the city will expand its use of closed-circuit cameras to prevent bulky waste from winding up on public and private property.