Illegally dumped trash keeps turning up in Mississauga parks, city says

Mississauga parks are being increasingly used as illegal dumping grounds for all kinds of garbage and city officials say the messy behaviour must stop.

In early September, City of Mississauga officials pleaded with residents and businesses guilty of illegal dumping on city property to change their ways or face fines ranging from $500 to $100,000.

It costs the city upwards of $100,000 a year to clean up the huge messes, officials said.

On Friday, Mississauga parks and recreation officials took to social media to again push people to do the right thing and dispose of their garbage legally and responsibly.

“We keep finding illegally dumped items in our parks like Jack Darling Memorial Park, Lakeside Park or Mississauga Valley (Park),” they said in a post to X (formerly Twitter). “When visiting a park, use the waste containers or take waste home if the containers are full.”

In a Sept. 3 news release, the city noted Carolyn Creek, Willowcreek, Fletcher’s Flats, Silverthorn and Woodgreen parks have also all seen a spike in illegally dumped items.

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Picnic areas with the most cases of illegal dumping include Jack Darling Memorial Park, Lakeside Park, Mississauga Valley Park, Paul Coffey Park and Meadowvale Sports Park, officials added at the time.

Used furniture of all sizes (including filing cabinets), household waste, tires, paint cans, propane tanks, yard waste and construction materials have been turning up in city parks and trails and on roadways and sidewalks more frequently than ever as many people and businesses are taking the easy way out when it comes to getting rid of their garbage, Mississauga officials said earlier.

Broken kitchen and bathroom fixtures, discarded pieces of wood and other car parts such as mufflers are also among the trashy mix that’s been abandoned and scattered across Canada’s seventh-largest city.

Officials say construction and renovation materials such as concrete, asphalt, drywall, tiles, paint cans and baseboards are commonly dumped on city property.

So far this year, the city’s 311 call centre/information line has received more than 300 reports of illegal dumping, a significant increase from 2023.

Additionally, the city noted earlier, “there are also examples of residents dumping motor oil, cooking oils, cleaning products, solvents and pharmaceuticals into the city’s storm drains (the square grates on the side of city streets), which contaminate the stormwater system and Lake Ontario.”

It can be difficult to issue fines against offenders, the city said, as most incidents of illegal dumping lack eyewitnesses.

As such, officials are focusing more on preventing dumping to begin with and educating residents and businesses on where and how to dispose of items.

So far this year, 1,080 tonnes of discarded items have been removed from Mississauga parks at a cost of $88,000, city parks officials said.

Visit the Peel Region website to learn how to properly dispose of waste.

(All photos: City of Mississauga)