South River council discusses garbage complaint

By Olivia Bradbury / Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

One of the items on South River council’s complaint log this month generated a larger discussion about how bulk garbage should be handled.

The complaint itself pertained to garbage in front of a house on Neville’s Road.

The property in question was recently sold. Town clerk and Manager Marjorie Dawson suggested that perhaps the previous owners left behind some larger items in the house that the new owners did not wish to keep, and so they left them by the garbage box for future collection. 

“We do have bulk garbage coming up in a few weeks,” said Dawson, referring to the Town’s collection of larger items such as appliances and furniture. 

“None of it’s food. It’s not anything that’s going to attract rodents,” said Jonny Jessop, who is in charge of the Town’s water, sewer, and general maintenance. He described the debris as consisting of larger furniture items, including a desk and part of a mattress.

Councillor Ryan Snow asked if the debris is something the Town itself could look after to keep the community looking nice and clean. He noted that in St. John’s, City workers would be sent to pick up such debris outside of the scheduled collection. 

Deputy Mayor Melissa Hierlihy said if the town began to do that, it could quickly become a demanding task.

Dawson noted that bulk garbage being put out before designated collection time is not an issue the Town frequently deals with. 

Councillor David Petten suggested that, if the homeowners are new South River residents, the Town could send them a friendly letter informing them South River has bulk garbage collection at specific times throughout the year. He added that perhaps the people moved from somewhere like St. John’s where they were used to workers coming to take away bulk garbage, and are unaware that South River has a different process.