An Okanagan businessman is calling on the provincial government to take concrete steps to address the problem of backcountry polluters.
Like many people, Tony De Bonis celebrated Canada Day in B.C.'s great outdoors. But what he found during the long weekend wasn't very Canadian.
De Bonis says he discovered an illegal dumpsite on the south side of the Okanagan Connector on Sunset Main Road.
It's an area the Peachland resident frequents with his two dogs. And, according to him, dumpsites like this are becoming more frequent.
“I think it's time for the Ministry of Environment, the Conservation Officer Service to maybe post more signs about illegal dumping and enforce strict fines, whether it's a beer can, a pop can, or a huge construction waste dumpsite,” De Bonis told Global News.
De Bonis says he routinely takes garbage out of the backcountry when he finds it. However, this site was too large for him to clean up by himself so he contacted the Okanagan Forest Task Force, hoping they might help.
The dumpsite was also reported to the province's RAPP (Report All Poachers and Polluters) hotline.
The OFTF says it received the report and will look into it, once other items in front of it are cleared.
The RAPP line is also available online, as are the costs of poaching and polluting.
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