HEBBVILLE - Jane Hartling knows all too well that litterers continue to toss garbage onto secluded Lunenburg County roadsides.

 In the past, she's had to pick up bags of construction waste, plastics, mattresses and barbecues in the area of her property, off the William Hebb Road.

 "One time we found a washing machine and it was a pay one," she recalled. "It even had a dollar stuck in the slot where you put the money."

 But that's not enough cash to cover the cost of cleaning up messes that aren't hers.

 During the last few weeks toys, an infant car seat and other trash showed up, ironically metres away from a "no littering" sign. She thinks it may be on Crown right-of-way but figures she'd be the one clearing it away.

 Ms Hartling is at a loss as to why people still dump rubbish illegally. "We have free pickup. They come every two weeks," she said of routine garbage collection.

 It's also a mystery to those who make their living informing the public about waste management. Waste reduction educator Kirk Symonds said the search is on for answers.

 "We don't have the data in terms of what the psychology is because very few people are going to admit to littering or illegal dumping," he said.

 Those who discard trash in the vicinity of "no littering" signs tend to like thumbing their nose at authority.

 "I think the vast majority of people are very conscientious about their waste but I think there's a small number of people who maybe even take delight in breaking the rules," Mr. Symonds said.

 "The best way we can deal with it is to report it. Without reporting it it's just going to sit there and probably attract more illegal dumping."

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 To what agency should the public report occurrences of illegal dumping? Nova Scotia's Department of Environment. "Always," Mr. Symonds said. The contact number is 543-4685 or check the links at http://www.gov.ns.ca/nse on the internet.

 The waste site in Whynotts Settlement offers a fee waiver when someone who wasn't responsible for dumping the material brings in garbage from an illegal dump site. Private property owners, whether they did the dumping or not, are still responsible for the cleanup if garbage is discovered on their land and the offender isn't found.

 "One of the challenging things about illegal dumping is proving who is responsible," said local Environment Department district manager Kristen Martell.

 "It is very helpful to us when members of the public record and report information, such as licence plate numbers, vehicle descriptions, when the incident occurred or anything else they consider relevant."

 Environment's Bridgewater office, which covers Lunenburg and Queens counties, reports they've responded to 43 illegal dumping and 18 littering complaints over the past year.

 A department spokeswoman said an inspector checked out the William Hebb Road site and was investigating.

posted on 12/28/11