There’s a pond near Redwing Wynd in St. Albert where Brett Bolkowy likes to go bird-watching. American coots swimming, red-winged blackbirds singing — it’s full of life.
But it’s also becoming full of trash blown in from nearby construction sites. It seems you can’t go more than a few steps without stumbling upon a discarded tarp or chunk of insulation stuck in the grass or sinking in the water. There was even more here earlier this month before construction crews cleaned some of it up, Bolkowy said.
“This is an ongoing issue throughout the city,” he said, adding he has seen similar debris fouling the Grey Nuns White Spruce Park and the Coal Mine Park pollinator garden.
“It seems either [city] policy or enforcement is not working properly here.”
Bolkowy contacted the Gazette last week to bring attention to the problem of construction waste in natural areas. A lifelong St. Albert resident and bird-watcher, he said he first spotted trash piling up at this wetland in the Riverside region last May, and contacted city administration, the company building homes next to the wetland, and Genstar (which is developing Riverside) about it.
Bolkowy said the construction company removed some of the more visible trash but left a lot of it in the wetland.
Trashing nature
Trash isn’t an uncommon sight in St. Albert’s natural areas, said Miles Constable of the Big Lake Environment Support Society. Some of it gets blown in accidentally, but BLESS has had cases of household waste being deliberately dumped in Lois Hole Centennial Provincial Park.
“Why they thought that easier than just putting it in the garbage is beyond me,” he added.
Bolkowy said construction waste can smother bird nests and release microplastics into our drinking water. While he could arrange for a citizen-led cleanup of the waste at the Riverside wetland, he said that wouldn’t solve the underlying problem of construction waste management. He called on the city to step up enforcement on this issue.
“I care too much about this city to let it look like this and [to let] wetland birds wade through plastic.”
Construction waste blown or dumped into a waterway would likely violate Alberta’s Environmental Protection and Enhancement Act, which prohibits littering on land and water, the Gazette finds. It might breach the federal Migratory Birds Convention Act, which bans the deposition of substances harmful to migratory birds into areas frequented by them, and St. Albert’s Parks bylaw.
City of St. Albert officials did not respond to questions about construction waste in wetlands by the time this story went to press.
Shane Leppky, the senior development manager with Genstar overseeing the Riverside development, said Genstar encourages its builders to contain their construction waste. He encouraged anyone who spotted construction waste blowing off a Genstar site to contact the company so they could clean it up.
“We do rely on residents to bring this to our attention.”
Constable encouraged anyone who sees trash in a wetland to report it to Alberta Parks (in Lois Hole Park) or the City of St. Albert for investigation and clean-up. He called on construction crews to be more diligent to waste management.
“They should really be paying more attention to garbage control. It’s not that difficult.”
St. Albert residents can call Public Works at 780-459-1557 or email [email protected] to arrange community clean-ups of waste found in parks and natural areas.
