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By Dan Walton

Pioneer Staff

The transfer station in Invermere offers free garbage disposal to the public. As a result, it is often misused an issue that the new bylaw officer is taking a stance against.

Public works have to take time off their hands maintaining the rest of the town and come around here to clean up other peoples junk, Invermere bylaw enforcement officer Mark Topliff told The Pioneer. Thats on the taxpayers dollar.

Bylaw No. 949 protects the transfer station against non-household domestic garbage by carrying a $100 fine, but its a difficult bylaw to enforce.

For people to take pictures just to prompt an investigation no one wants to get involved, he said. Im at wits end. Invermeres got all these facilities, which mostly responsible people use, but there are just a few bad apples that dont want to drive ten minutes further where its free to dump.

A ten minute trip from Invermere is all it takes for a motorist to arrive at 1827 Windermere Loop Road, the site of the Columbia Valley landfill.

Items of trash that are too big to fit in a dumpster are to be disposed of at the landfill, along with construction and demolition waste, tires, appliances, and all furniture. Electronics can be recycled down the street from the transfer station at the Invermere Bottle Depot.

Everybody thinks their junk is somebody elses treasure, said Mr. Topliff. Referring to a mattress leaning against the fence beside a dumpster, he asked, Would you sleep on that?

Those who are misuing the transfer station may simply be in need of a friendly reminder, but witnesses to illegal dumping can phone Mr. Topliff at 250-341-4536.

The Columbia Valley Landfill is open from 9 a.m. until 6 p.m. every day except for Christmas and New Years. A re-use-it centre on site offers a place to drop still-usable items, which thrifty treasure hunters can rescue from ending up in the dump.