Press Releases

On Saturday, April 5, 2014, approximately 170 local citizens joined together to clean up the banks of the Fraser River in Chilliwack. Through this incredible team effort 9,300 kg of garbage was collected and properly disposed of at the Bailey Landfill. Among the items collected were mattresses, shotgun shells, household garbage and even an old safe.

The event, which was hosted by the Fraser Riverkeeper Society, Woodtone and Rotz Disposal was a big success. The City of Chilliwack was happy to support the event by waiving the tipping fee for the materials collected, and hopes that the cleanup conveyed a strong message about the importance of stopping illegal dumping.

Garbage, dumping and pollution affect the quality of our recreational areas and wildlife habitat. Education through river cleanup events, signage and general community awareness will help curb the trend of dumping garbage next to our rivers.

“It was incredible to see so many people give up their Saturday to participate in this river clean-up,” said Acting Mayor Ken Popove. “Having so many different user groups in the area come together sends a strong message that illegal dumping is unacceptable and will be reported.”

“The river is my family’s backyard, it’s where we go camping, quadding, fishing,” said Andy Rotzetter, owner and president of Rotz Disposal. “It’s a place we really love, but the way some people treat it is just shameful. Our sincere thanks go out to the volunteers, donors and everyone who helped us clean it up.”

“This year's huge success is another great example of the collective effort of user groups and people from all walks of life," said Kevin Raffle of Woodtone. "All of us have a stake in what is happening in these places our children are going to inherit. The message we're hearing loud and clear from everyone at the cleanup was 'Let's solve this problem. We're not going to tolerate this anymore in our community.'"

For those that missed Saturday’s event, there’s still time to make a difference. In partnership with the Chilliwack/Vedder River Cleanup Society, an Adopt-a-River cleanup event will take place on Saturday, April 12. Registration is between 8:30 – 9:30 am at the Great Blue Heron Nature Reserve where free coffee and donuts will be provided by Tim Hortons. Clean up will take place from 9am – 12pm. More information is available online at www.chilliwack.com/adopt.

If you regularly use Vedder Mountain, check out the annual Vedder Mountain cleanup on Sunday, April 13 at 9:30am. A free hot lunch will be provided to volunteers at this event. More information is available online at www.vmta.ca.

For more information about the City of Chilliwack’s many green initiatives, please contact the Environmental Services department at 604-793-2907.