Abandoned sofas, mattresses and TV sets have been spotted on Bowen Island not just near the roads, where they could potentially find a new owner, but also in ditches and pushed over embankments, says Wil Hilsen, the Bowen Island Municipality's managerof public works.
"We want the public to know that there are options for disposing those items responsibly," Hilsen said, adding that the annual residential clean-up is scheduled for Saturday, April 20, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. in front of the Bowen Island Recycling Depot on Mount Gardner Road. Bowen Waste Service will provide large containers where household items, appliances and other items considered too large for weekly garbage pick-up can be disposed of free of charge. Mattresses will be accepted with a maximum of two per vehicle.
The spring clean-up will be followed by a free paint recycling and hazardous waste disposal event on Saturday, April 27, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Building Centre, 1013 Grafton Road, where things like latex, aerosols and oil-based paints and stains can be dropped off. Details are available on the municipality's website at www.bimbc.ca or by calling Bowen Waste Service at 604-947-2255. Items that are accepted at the Bowen Island Recycling Depot are listed at www.bimbc.ca/recycling and include electronics.
Leaving unwanted junk by the side of the road or dumping it in a public place is inconsiderate, said Hilsen, explaining that he has to tap into the roads' budget to pay for the disposal. "[Those funds] could go to other works we should be doing for the general public," he said. "Someone is passing on a problem to Bowen taxpayers."
Adding insult to injury was a piece of junk that was left right next to a newly erected No Littering sign last week, prompting Hilsen to urge islanders to get rid of unwanted items in a responsible manner.
