The Regional District of East Kootenay will temporarily close the reuse centre at the Cranbrook Transfer Station in response to ongoing break-ins, vandalism and inappropriate activity.
RDEK officials said the centre will be closed for six months in an attempt to remove one of the location’s attractants.
“For the past several months we have been dealing with continuous break-ins and vandalism, costly damage to our fences, break-ins to the buildings and general damages to the property that not only put those who are responsible at risk but could potentially put our staff and the public at risk,” said General Manager of Engineering & Environmental Services Kevin Paterson. “Public safety is absolutely our top priority and this decision has not been made lightly.”
RDEK officials said they have taken several steps to reduce vandalism and break-ins, such as removing on-site attractants, leaving the reuse centre doors open to minimize nightly damage, adding overnight security patrols and increasing monitoring.
“We are seeing a consistent pattern in that most of the after-hours visitors and vandals cut through the fence and immediately go to the Reuse Centre,” said Paterson. “From there, they either leave the site or continue to stay often attempting to access other bins causing additional damage. We have taken steps to remove our storage area and minimize attractions, yet we continue to see this activity multiple times a week.”
The RDEK said the fence was cut twice within 24 hours in early Jan. and staff responded to several incidents around Christmas.
“The Reuse Centre is the primary attractant. We are hopeful closing it temporarily will reduce the significant operational impacts of the vandalism, and more importantly, limit the dangerous and irresponsible behaviour that comes along with it thereby ensuring a safe site for our staff and public,” said Paterson. “We recognize the Reuse Centre is a popular amenity at the Transfer Station; however, the items accepted at our Centres are household items in good working condition that can be donated to a number of local charities, offered free to friends and neighbours or posted on digital free sites.”
“The purpose of the Reuse Centres is to reduce the amount of waste going to landfill, and everything that is accepted at the Reuse Centre can be easily donated or recycled.”
The RDEK said the Transfer Station has dealt with damage to its Hazardous Waste Depot, an intentionally set fire in December and almost daily after-hours illegal activity and vandalism.
“We are also experiencing issues during operational hours due to inappropriate and confrontational behaviours on site, commonly in the Reuse Centre area that have impacted our staff and the public’s feeling of safety, and are hopeful this closure will help curb these conflicts on site as well,” said Paterson.
Cranbrook’s reuse centre is the only one of the RDEK’s reuse centres that will be closed.
“This closure is a direct result of the activity and behaviour we are experiencing at the Cranbrook site. We will remove the items from the Reuse Centre over the next few days, leave the doors open and continue to monitor the activity in the coming months before reporting back to the RDEK Board later this summer,” said Paterson.