Metral Drive and The Island Hwy
There's a tiny patch of trees that rest between the Island Hwy and Metral Drive in North Nanaimo. This is an area I pass several times a day on my way home. I've seen people from the neighbouring houses use it as a dumping zone for yard waste. McDonald's and Tim Horton's litter the outer-skirts and there's a wide trail that winds through it.
This morning I had about 20 minutes to spend trekking through the muddy trails with my husband and daughter before we all had to be off. Within the first 50ft I had filled on of my garbage bags, came across all sorts of item: garbage can lids, planting containers, pails, broken toys, oil jugs wrapped in plastic bags and spray cans. The most disturbing and abundant source of waste I came across today were plastic garbage bags. There were so many! As if the forest floor had been layered in bags and then top-soiled. I was pulling them out from under dirt and leaves by the dozens, as though they had been buried.
There's still more work to do, but here are some photos of today's venture.
Comments
wow! it sounds so
wow! it sounds so treacherous! Yet you spent time cleaning it up, which I think is a very compassionate and loving thing to do for all involved.
Thank you for being out there doing that, and also for taking the time to share your story.
:)
Kate
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I spent another hour in the
I spent another hour in the same place today finishing up what I had started. In considering they types of debris picked up over the past two days, I've been able to compile a list of stereotype litterers: teenagers, people doing construction work and renovating, people having done work on their vehicles, people burying dead pets, people doing landscaping and people cleaning up after Christmas.
After bringing all the crud home, I emptied the bags to sort through the potentially hazardous waste. There would have been little point to me cleaning up one area just to dump it in another.
For the Recycling Exchange at 2477 Kenworth Rd:
1) aerosol and paint cans
2) flower pots
3) motor oils, lubes and filters
4) headlights and taillights
5) lots of metal...I'm not sure what from
6) broken glass
7) styrofoam
8) water piping and door seals
9) a garbage can lid
10)plastic pails
11)a glass bong
For my residential recycling program:
1) coffee and pop take-out lids
2) yoghurt containers
3) plastic bags
Among the rest were a few refundable drink containers for my daughter's piggy bank and waste with no other home but the landfill. It should be noted that there still lay broken glass, metal and perhaps nails through the trails that I alone could not get at. Caution to everyone exploring this area.