A recent story by CBC News about unsightly trash, illegal dumping and derelict buildings on Campobello has upset some island residents, who feel they were being picked on unfairly, but also has prompted some to take action to tackle the issue. Noting that he didn't appreciate the tone or the timing of the CBC coverage, Campobello Mayor Stephen Smart says the "negative press" has caused people to pay more attention to the littering and dumping and to "go outside and address it."
     "We are not unique," says Smart, noting that it was odd for the island to be singled out by the CBC. A number of area towns are dealing with "the ghosts from the sardine heyday and the fishing heyday. We have to address it after the goldrush is over."
Agreeing that there is a littering issue on the island, with a lack of respect for the environment by some residents, Smart remembers when residents used to throw their garbage off the end of the wharves. "You don't see that now," he notes.
     However, there is still a problem with the illegal dumping of white goods like refrigerators, stoves and other appliances, since pickup is by appointment only and isn't done through the winter months. "There is an issue with that," Smart says. He notes that if illegal dump sites are found the provincial Department of Energy and Resource Development is contacted, and the department can lay charges if necessary.
     The island's council has looked at setting up a transfer station for white goods, but Smart says the main barrier is finding a location, since there is a finite amount of land. He estimates that about 70% of the island is owned by Roosevelt Campobello International Park, the provincial park or the Campobello Company, which has protective covenants on its property that only allow for residential use. The remainder of the island is privately owned, but he says the council will continue to look at the possibility.
     The dump on the island was closed in the 1990s, with a trash pick-up service being provided since then. Southern Sanitation hauls the garbage to the Hemlock Knoll landfill, which is north of St. Stephen in Lawrence Station, with the contract put out to bid annually. Garbage is picked up twice a week, with the island divided into two sections. Trash pick-up in the Wilson's Beach area is on Fridays and in the Welshpool area on Thursdays. Also, plastic, cardboard and paper recycling is provided at the Village Mart. Both trash pick-up and recycling are covered through the island's property tax assessment.

Cleanup efforts
     Following the CBC report, Allison Smart, who is the mayor's sister, decided to be pro-active and organized an Earth Day cleanup, with 15 to 20 people picking up the trash along the roadsides from the Village Mart to Head Harbour Light. She's hoping to organize another one before the marathon in June and the tourist season.
     She estimates that 90% of the trash along the roadsides is returnables -- beer and soda bottles. "As long as people are drinking and driving, we will have problems," she says, adding that the RCMP and council are working on the issue. She notes, though, that it's "a touchy subject."
     At its April meeting, the council allocated funds for cleanups, as it has done for eight years. Stephen Smart says cleanups are conducted once or twice a year, and also beach cleanups were held for three years, with monies provided by the province's Environmental Trust Fund and the council. "Local volunteers have done cleanups for years," Smart notes. In addition, the Roosevelt park helps with the pickup of the trash collected, and the school has done cleanups for a long time. "We have a good network to deal with these issue," he says.
     Evelyn Bowden, who lives on North Road and is a board member of the Friends of the Head Harbour Lightstation, says last year she and other volunteers collected nine bags of trash by the lighthouse, but this year when she went down it was already cleaned by Tammy Corn and Gloria Newman. "They did it all for us, and we're so grateful."
     Bowden notes that people will throw beer cans and cigarette butts in the parking area by the lighthouse. "It belongs to all of us," she says of the Head Harbour Light area. "I don't know why they do this."
     Bowden agrees that there is a trash problem in some places, including on the Campobello Company land, where people dump appliances. Before the bridge to Lubec was opened in 1962 it was more common for people to throw garbage off the wharves, although they had less trash back then.
     Allison Smart notes that, unlike in years past when fish would be wrapped in wax paper or food would be in tin cans that folks would bury, "Now there's a lot of plastic, and plastic doesn't go away or biodegrade."
Although recycling is offered on the island, Bowden says some people don't take advantage of it. "It's a shame." Noting that detergent bottles take a long time to degrade, she says if she sees any along the road she picks them up and takes them to be recycled. She points out, though, that the issue is not unique to the island. "It's a problem everywhere."
     "We live in a very beautiful spot," Allison Smart notes. "It's a shame to see people chucking garbage out of windows or driving miles out of the way to throw out garbage." She says it's "silly" for people to drive to the back of the island to throw out trash or out Head Harbour Road to dump an old couch or white goods over the bank, especially in "this day and age when people know the effects of all this stuff." She also sees white goods and trash on Fundy Drive, with washers, dryers, stereos and "freezers riddled with bullet holes." She adds, "It's an old mindset that's still around."
     She states, "We're trying to get people active" with cleaning up the island, and "we're trying to teach our kids better and lead by example."
     "Even if you clean up you front yard, it's a start," she says, adding, "The island looks really good right now."

Eyesore needs to be addressed
     Another long-standing issue has been the falling-down Jackson Bros. wharf in Wilson's Beach. "It's an eyesore that needs to come down," says Allison Smart.
Noting that the property is privately owned, Stephen Smart says there had been a plan in the works to clean up the property but it fell through. The council does not "want to go in heavy-handed," since the property, which was a fish plant and store that closed in 1988, is now owned by two elderly widows.
     "It would be a quarter-million-dollar cleanup bill, and they don't have the finances to clean it up," he says. The council could adopt a bylaw for the property to be cleaned up but doesn't want to cause a hardship for members of the community. The council's planning advisory committee is looking at how to handle the issue, including the possibility of finding alternative sources of funding that would not place a burden on the island's taxpayers. He adds, "We want to do it in a timely manner but not skyrocket taxes or put anyone out of their house."
     Smart hopes that plans on how to move forward will be developed by the end of May.