RDCK pleads for people to stop dumping cat litter and other household items at Taghum Beach Regional Park

Photo: Samantha Holomay

Taghum Beach Regional Park is managed by the RDCK.

The Regional District of Central Kootenay (RDCK) has released a reminder that dumping is prohibited at Taghum Beach Regional Park after reports of an influx of garbage being left there.

“We have noticed a significant increase in the dumping of household garbage at Taghum Beach Regional Park, including large amounts of cat litter,” The RDCK wrote in a post last week.

Dan Elliot, the communications coordinator for the RDCK, said that the amount of garbage being left at the park is not normal.

"We do usually get a couple bags of household garbage that ends up at a lot of our parks ... but with the current situation at Taghum, it's a little bit excessive," he said. "There was a lot of cat litter for some reason."

According to Schedule C of the Resource and Recovery Facilities Regulatory Bylaw, animal feces is to be disposed of at landfills and transfer stations only, in addition to certain household items.

The RDCK is responsible for the landfilling and end-of-life management of waste generated by the region. Elliot said given the time of year, garbage collectors contracted by the RDCK typical pick up one full bin of garbage around this time, but recently collected 60 kilograms of garbage.

The garbage bins present at the park are only intended for garbage accumulated while using the park.

The biggest thing at this moment is education. The RDCK said that they want to spread the message that they are aware that this is happening, and want to discourage people from discarding their household waste.

They said they will be putting up more signage around the parks to ensure people understand the rules. Despite the RDCK park and trail department being responsible for managing the park, they don’t hand out fines.

The B.C. Conservation Officer Service (COS) determines the price of the fines, which is currently $200, or $275 if paid late.

The reason why people are opting to leave their garbage at a place that is less than three kilometres away from the Grohman Narrows Transfer Station in Nelson is unclear, but Elliot said that they have even found a refrigerator that was dumped at the park.

"People might not be aware of the reality of the cost of taking certain things to the transfer station," he said. "If you take a fridge to a transfer it's free."

If the issue persists, the RDCK would considering increasing the fine for getting caught leaving garbage where it shouldn't be left.

"But that's not where we want to go, we just want to make sure the community understands," said Elliot.

There is also camera surveillance at the park that has recorded people driving up and and dumping stuff.