SURREY, B.C. -- Rob Rice is proud to live and work in beautiful Surrey. But he feels it’s getting a filthy image.
Drive along its streets, especially near Scott Road Station, and you will find garbage dumped everywhere. When CTV News visited the area on Monday, we saw baby strollers, a playpen, used mattresses and furniture, clothing, tires and full garbage bags tossed at the side of the road.
Rubbish was in ditches, behind fences, in front of stores and restaurants, along walkways and buried under fully grown blackberry bushes.
"It’s devastating to be honest. It’s everywhere," said Rice.
He takes transit to work and said everyday there seems to be more garbage, with much of it lying on sidewalks and probably tossed from vehicles late at night.
"Of course that’s when people dump, when it’s dark out because nobody can see them do it," he figured. "Because it is a shameful thing."
He and his team have partnered with Bins2Go to help clean up the area. They’ve been documenting their progress and all the filth they come across on their YouTube site BEASTCoastAuthentic.
But they can’t do it alone and are encouraging Surrey residents to do their part by spending one hour a week cleaning up garbage.
"You can see a rabbit eating the grass but he’s stuck between a chip bag and four to five Tim Horton’s cups and wrappers. It’s just kind of sad really," Rice said standing next to a tossed sofa.
The city said it's aware of the problem but that illegal dumping happens in almost every neighbourhood in the province.
"Our crews clean up the city property in this area two to three times per week," wrote City of Surrey engineer Ray Kerr.
But some private property owners feel they've been left to clean up other people’s thoughtless mess.
