Community members share anger over photos of illegal dumping: 'Do people not know that dumps exist for a reason?'

An astonishing site sparked anger over illegal dumping.

The photos, shared in r/Calgary last year, showed the shell of a hot tub in a barren field.

"Please don't dump your trash in riparian habitats," the poster wrote, noting the location as the Nose Creek Valley in Airdrie, Alberta, and that they had called a number for nonemergency municipal services.

"Do people not know that dumps exist for a reason?" one person asked.

Another Redditor said: "At first I thought the photo was of a cardboard drink tray and I was upset. Then I realized it was a friggen hottub? Wtf is wrong with people!"

Some commenters pointed out that the culprit may have been trying to avoid a $25 fee at a landfill. The CBC, in a 2020 story about illegal dumping in Edmonton, reported it was nine times costlier to clean up illegally dumped trash than to legally dump it.

The outlet noted that education, cleanup efforts, and deterrent and enforcement programs can help curb littering, which also harms the environment and wildlife in addition to desecrating natural areas and public places.

Littering impacts public health, too, as items can clog waterways and break down into microplastics, which then contaminate our soil, food chain, and drinking water. At illegal dumpsites, the issues can be even more problematic, with the garbage attracting disease-spreading animals and lowering property values.

Simply talking to youths about this issue can help spread awareness and change attitudes and behaviors, according to Keep Pennsylvania Beautiful, which in 2019 advised the Recycling Council of Alberta, as the CBC reported.

You can help by minimizing waste, which includes cutting the consumption of plastic and recycling properly.

Witnesses to dumping should contact authorities and report identifying characteristics of people, vehicles, and items as well as the time and place of the illegal act.

"Time for people to spread this around," one user wrote. "Someone must have a neighbor or (former) friend that got rid of this thing. Either they did it, or their contractor did."

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