Plea for litter-free

The mayor of Wabush wants this year's Cleanup Week to outshine any other.

The incinerator will shut down for good just after Clean Up week is over and Ron Barron wants all residents to take advantage of the free pickup available from May 25 to 29.

"Any residents who have materials they want carted off, this is the week to do it," he said. "All people have to do is put their non-hazardous material at the top of their driveways and it will be picked up by the Town."

A problem the Town has identified is the number of car wrecks that are around and the mayor encourages residents who have junk vehicles to take advantage of this opportunity to get rid of them free of charge.

"During Cleanup Week, we are offering a grace period for our residents where we will remove the vehicles," he said. "All the residents have to do is call the Town and arrangements will be made to discard of the wrecks. And I would like to say to the people, now is your chance because after there will be a fee."

A number of complaints coming to the attention of Town have council mulling over options in how to deal with the problem of junk vehicles. The mayor assures there will be enforcement and a fee will be applied to owners who don't comply.

All that garbage

A very common and longtime complaint still dogs Labrador West when it comes to total disregard for dumping garbage.

"It's utterly ridiculous if you go over to the incinerator and see the amount of garbage that's dumped outside the gates," said Barron. "I mean it's common sense, I don't know what types of people would go over there after the dump is closed and just throw their garbage there on side of the road. It's terrible that no matter how often you talk about this problem it still continues."

Council members all expressed concern over the unsanitary practice at last Tuesday evening's council meeting. With the incinerator being closed down the end of this month, people who insist on dumping at the gate will cause even greater challenges given that domestic garbage will need to go to the new landfill site.

The mayor said it's pretty embarrassing, especially during summer months, to have visitors passing through and having to look at unsightly garbage. And it goes beyond just dumping around the incinerator area.

"I would like the people to get in a frame of mind where they are conscientious of their garbage," he added. "It's seems like wherever you go, you see litter and there's just no excuse for it. It's not much trouble to use a garbage container but unfortunately there is a percentage of people who just don't care.