Litterbugs on ice
Residents disgusted with trash along Dettah crossing
Daniel Campbell
Northern News Services
Published Friday, February 21, 2014
SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE
Tim Hortons' annual 'Roll Up The Rim To Win' contest began on Monday, meaning more disposable cups are being used - and tossed to the side of the road - than any other time of year.
And the amount of coffee cups and other litter along the Dettah ice road is becoming a concern for at least two Yellowknife residents.
Phil McPhail and his wife Noeline Villebrun took a drive across the lake on Tuesday and say they were disgusted with what they saw.
"There's pizza boxes, a lot of Tim Hortons cups, pop bottles, cardboard containers and some beer cans," McPhail said.
"We live in one of the most beautiful parts of the country and people obviously don't have any respect for it."
Villebrun says she's considering posting signs outside Tim Hortons telling people to stop dumping their garbage on the land and ice.
But the problem doesn't lie solely with coffee-guzzling wannabe-Toyota Corolla winners - for McPhail and Villebrun, the issue is a lack of respect for the land and water.
"We should be grateful that we have this beautiful country. We come here to live a good clean life. That also includes ensuring your garbage is disposed of properly," Villebrun said.
Both say they are incredulous as to why anyone would litter on the ice.
"When (the ice) melts, guess where it goes? Right into the lake," McPhail said.
Villebrun said it might help if the Department of Transportation had garbage bins on each end of the road. There are already a number of signs along the ice road telling motorists not to litter.
It's unclear if the department conducts a cleanup
of the road before spring melt, as it did not provide a comment on the issue by press time.
