Richmond Municipal Council will ask the province to return garbage cans to parks and beaches.
Council received a letter about the amount of roadside litter around the county during Monday’s regular monthly meeting in Arichat.
While the municipality does support community clean-ups, Warden Amanda Mombourquette said the roadside is a provincial matter, but illegal dump sites are reported to Nova Scotia Environment.
At a recent meeting of the Police Advisory Committee, District 5 Councillor Brent Sampson said they were told by the RCMP said litter is “tough to prosecute” since the county is so big, and there are limited police resources, but those who witness littering are encouraged to call the RCMP.
Deputy Warden Melanie Sampson said better enforcement is needed, but that is hard given that the municipal bylaw doesn’t have teeth. Mombourquette said that is made even more difficult by the fact their budget limitations do not allow them to hire a bylaw enforcement officer.
In response to a suggestion from District 2 Councillor Michael Diggdon for more garbage cans around the county, the District 5 Councillor said there used to be garbage bins at Point Michaud Beach and other provincial sites but that was replaced by a carry-in, carry-out policy.
The deputy warden pointed out that more garbage cans in Louisdale has helped keep the community cleaner, and District 1 Councillor Shawn Samson said more public education is also needed.
Along with sending a letter to the province, the warden will also get enforcement numbers on littering from the RCMP.
The municipality also referred a request for hiring students to pick up litter to budget deliberations