Carbonear council address resident reports of garbage

By Local Journalism Initiative Reporter Olivia Bradbury

The Town of Carbonear has been receiving reports from residents about garbage on certain properties.

At a recent meeting, councillor Wendy Penney said she herself had reported two properties for garbage, one on London Road and another on High Road South. She asked whether the reports had been looked into yet.

“There seems to be a couple more coming in there now, so the next thing we’re going to bottle neck. We need to move them along,” said Penney.

Mayor Sam Slade noted that the town’s Municipal Enforcement Officer, Matthew Burke, had been absent from the most recent Public Works, Waste Management and Community Services committee meeting.

“So, I’m not sure if we got any kind of an update on that, but I’m sure the next meeting that they do have we’ll certainly have an update for you,” said Slade.

Penney said some residents had already taken photos of concerned properties.

Councillor Malcolm Seymour, chair of the Public Works, Waste Management and Community Services committee, assured her it they would keep working on the issue.

Deputy Mayor Fred Earle also expressed his concern about garbage in the community. “Apparently right now, if you go to the extremities of Carbonear, people are starting to dump,” he said. He named Gadden’s Mash and Fox Farm Road as some local areas that had fallen victim of this. He added that garbage had also been dumped on corners.

“So my concern right now is we had a wildfire last year,” said Earle, who went on to mention a couple of recent wildfires that had occurred recently, including one in Nova Scotia, and one in Trout River, Newfoundland.

“We need to be vigilant on that,” said Earle. “IF any citizens see people dumping garbage, anonymously they can record and let us know.”

“Very important to be vigilant,” agreed Slade. “We all think that it can’t happen to us, but it can happen to us, so it’s very important that we play an active role as the council in Carbonear and the citizens.”

Seymour said that, at his next meeting with Burke, they would be discussing the beautification of the town.

“We’re going to be looking into everything from here on in, and we’re going to try to get this town and keep it clean as we go through,” he said.