Richard Gleeson
Northern News Services

Yellowknife ( Jun 09/00) - "It's like living in a garbage dump," said Gary Tait of the litter problem in the city.

The five-year resident said he didn't pay much attention to the litter in town his first year here, but it's become harder and harder to ignore.

"As a citizen, more of a long-term resident, I guess I take a little more pride in the city. But you see all this garbage lying around -- we want to be touted as a tourism destination, but it's almost embarrassing."

Linda Dunbar, a 23-year city resident, said littering seems to be a habit for a lot of people.

"There just doesn't seem to be any thought or care -- I've seen people throw stuff out of cars and trucks, people walking down the street just pitching a candy wrapper or cigarette butt on the ground," Dunbar said.

"Another example is the amount of glass that's broken against the rocks ... wherever you find rocks you'll find glass. Some people seem to take great delight in breaking beer bottles or pop bottles or whatever they can get."

Dunbar said one of the really frustrating things about littering is how unnecessary it is.

Tait agreed -- "Instead of dropping it on the ground, hold onto it for 100 feet and throw it in the garbage can."

Under the city's garbage bylaw, anyone caught littering is subject to a $200 fine.

But municipal enforcement manager Doug Gillard said it is a tough bylaw to enforce.

"(Littering charges) are fairly rare," said Gillard. "To charge someone for littering you have to actually catch them in the act.

"I've charged several people for littering, but mostly it's been from a vehicle. I remember one in particular, a couple of young guys driving around in a car and all of a sudden a McDonald's bag comes flying out the window. I just stopped them and charged them."

Gillard said during more than one traffic stop, drivers have tossed gum or a cigarette butt out the window while he's been talking to them.

"Especially cigarettes," said Gillies.

"I think it's so common for people to throw them on the ground and step on them. It becomes a habit, they don't think about it."

Tait agreed that it is impractical to force people not to litter -- "You'd have to have bylaw standing on every corner with their ticket books ready. People have to police themselves."

He said the key to cleaning up the city is having pride in its appearance and giving it a bit of thought.

But Dunbar said it wouldn't take long for a municipal enforcement officer to spot a littering violation.

"I think if they were diligent about littering infractions they'd find them quite easily," she said. "I see people littering all the time. It drives me crazy."

Gillard said even raising the issue of litter is a step in the right direction.

"If it's morally unacceptable, people are less likely to do it," he said.

"If more and more people were to make an issue of it, maybe other people wouldn't litter. They'd see that it's not acceptable to the public."