Frustrated Point Douglas residents say city needs to crack down on 'huge problem' of illegal dumping

Residents in Winnipeg's Point Douglas neighbourhood say they're fed up with overflowing garbage bins and illegal dumping, and say more needs to be done to stop it. 

Dozens of people in the north Winnipeg neighbourhood took the problem into their own hands Saturday, spending a morning cleaning up garbage in the community.

"It's a constant problem and there are definite hot spots" where people dump all types of garbage, said Catherine Flynn, acting chair of the Point Douglas Residents Committee.

"We have foundation remains. We have furniture. We have what obviously is the remains of an entire apartment," she said. "We found an animal carcass one year."

Flynn says residents are now often stumbling across huge piles of garbage that are clearly the result of illegal dumping, but the city doesn't seem to be taking the issue seriously. That's what led to Saturday's cleanup, she said, which began at Michaëlle Jean Park, between Main Street and the Red River.

"We're just a little tired of waiting."

On top of illegal dumping, there's also the issue of debris that blows around from overflowing garbage bins that aren't emptied often enough, said Flynn, and there are remnants from encampments along the riverbank each spring.

"It's unimaginable what you see here," she said.

"We've got this beautiful park.… We've got a really passionate, dedicated residents' committee and we work really, really hard, and for people to come in here and dump their stuff is disrespectful in the most profound and egregious way."

Christine Kirouac, who lives in the area and is on the Point Douglas Environment Committee, said illegal dumping often happens at night. She'd like to see cameras placed around hot spots for dumping.

"It's a huge, huge problem that the city needs to … address in terms of policies and looking at the North End and Point Douglas as being very different than the rest of the city," she said. 

"We need to be dealing with things differently here than your protocol for St. James [or] Charleswood."

Kirouac said residents have been pushing the city to install signs around hot spots to remind people that dumping is illegal and there are fines for breaking the bylaw, but there's been no progress.

"It makes me feel angry and helpless in a lot of ways," she said. "This can't be allowed."