The photo above and articles below were published in the Powell River News on March 19, 1970
Strewn garbage “our problem” says mayor
Questioning the new municipal garbage collection system whereby a pilot crew in a small pickup removes the plastic garbage containers from cans, usually located on private property, carries them to municipal property lines where they lie until the garbage truck comes along for collection, Ernie Parsons asked, “Who is responsible if a dog or other animal comes along, bursts open the plastic bag and leaves garbage strewn along the boulevard?
“I would think the municipality is responsible in that case,” answered the mayor. “Our men put the bag there.”
Parsons then said such a situation had occurred and the garbage men hadn’t bothered to clean up the mess.
“It was still strewn over the boulevard one week later,” said Parsons.
Must not get complacent over dump-ratepayer
The biggest danger in garbage disposal is that we will become complacent once a new garbage dump has been established, Martin Rossander warned Cranberry Ratepayers this week.
Rossander, chairman of a committee studying garbage collecting methods, reported on information received from a company selling composting and pulverizing equipment. He said the company offered to send a representative to Powell River to speak to Cranberry Ratepayers and any other interested organizations.
He reported that regional directors have been given a contour map of the site near Edgehill school proposed as a sanitary landfill garbage dump.
“Something has to be done,” he said. “We can block the officials at every turn but that does not solve the garbage problem. It has to be put somewhere.
“The biggest danger is that we are apt to become complacent once the thing has been achieved,” he said.
Rossander suggested that Cranberry Ratepayers can keep things going until the problem has been solved.
“We cannot keep on pushing it off the world forever,” he said.
