‘Stand up for North Central’: Advocate asking for help in dealing with garbage build-up

WATCH: Residents in Regina’s North Central neighbourhood want the city’s help to keep their street safe and clean. Sierra D’Souza Butts reports.

Erinn Paik says the excess amount of litter and garbage surrounding her family’s home in North Central has impacted her quality of life.

Moving to the area about three years ago with her husband and children, Paik said she feels it is “unfair” the responsibility of garbage build up in the neighbourhood has fallen onto residents.

“Most of the people who have lived here for a long time or who own their homes take pride in their properties, but the garbage that we’re seeing every spring doesn’t come from the homeowners or the residents,” Paik expressed.

“It’s either being dumped or it’s a problem with the homeless, bins being stolen, garbage being picked through, dumped all over everyone’s backyards and alleys.”

In hopes of advocating for change, Paik said she has brought her concerns to the city through letters, spoken to councillors, and has worked with different community organizations on finding solutions to address the issue.

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However, she is disappointed with not seeing “any type of outcome.”

“The main thing we need, that the residents need here is just for someone to show that they care,” Paik voiced.

“We need anyone to stand up for North Central. I don’t currently have an idea of how we’re going to fix this problem because it’s connected to so many other problems, but we just need someone to step forward and say, ‘Okay, we’re going to work on this with you. Bring the community together and try to solve it.’ It’s not going to happen overnight.”

She added the trash piling up in the streets in alleys has raised safety concerns.

“The hazardous waste needles and drug paraphernalia, it is such a bigger problem than just garbage,” she expressed. “The needles safe disposal and pickup is done mainly by community organizations.”

Community organizations such as White Pony Lodge Inc. have taken the initiative to help clean North Central’s streets.

“We see people all the time out there cleaning up, whether it’s needles, whether it’s garbage, we see lots of community members who care and so we want to help them out and do that as well,” shared board chair, Leah O’Malley.

O’Malley said the City of Regina has implemented a program of its own which has made a noticeable difference.

“[The program] has really helped clean up a lot of the garbage. They come around and clean it. I’ve noticed a definite difference there,” she said.

“Every time the snow melts, there’s a ton of garbage that’s there. I think for our community to really see a big difference, we have to start looking at the underlying causes.”

O’Malley added that social issues play a role into the garbage build up in the neighbourhood.

“I think things like safe housing, accessible housing, mental health, poverty, all of those different factors all contribute to the problems that people experience here,” she said.

The City of Regina said its debris team has collected over 90 tonnes of waste in the area since April 7.

“The debris team is the response that the city has put in place towards dealing with debris, specifically in the Heritage or North Central areas,” said Janet Aird, program manager of the city’s Water, Waste and Environment department.

“The debris team is for those areas alone and not really used in other parts of the city.”

City officials said if people see illegal dumping activities, they should report it to the police.