SASKATOON — A Silverwood Heights neighbourhood community social media page has raised concerns about Diabetes Canada collection bins on Primrose Drive being used as dumpsters, with both bins overflowing. Items are strewn around — either by wind or people — and the condition of the area has sparked concerns about pest infestations, with the donation bins now resembling garbage dumps rather than the donation sites they were intended to be.
SaskToday reached out to Ward 5 City Councillor, Randy Donauer and he responded, "The City of Saskatoon operates the recycling depots predominantly for cardboard and paper, however, the bins in question here are from Diabetes Canada and we are simply allowing them space." Donauer also did state that he put a call in with city workers to have the mess cleaned up.
Donauer, through response to a social media post asking for his intervention, encouraged residents to reach out to him at [email protected] regarding these concerns.
Interesting to note that first photos of the bins on site were taken at 1:18 p.m. and a mere nine hours later at 10:18 p.m. a photo included here shows initially dumped items were cleaned up, but a new variety of dumped items had taken their place.
SaskToday reached out to Diabetes Canada when concerns were initially raised on July 7, however as of July 8 at noon, no response had been received.
The Diabetes Canada website shows more than four dozen bins in various locations across Saskatoon. Diabetes Canada, which manages these donation bins, states on its website that it has been working for more than four decades to collect gently used clothing and smaller household items for a second life.
“Since 1985, we have diverted over 3 billion pounds of clothing and household items from landfills, raising $200M to fund research and help send 30,000 kids to camp,” says the Diabetes Canada website.
The organization’s “” page gives a detailed list of accepted and non-accepted items for its community collection bins.
The Silverwood Heights community page says their local concerns about specific bins come from the continued habits of some people to dump garbage or other unaccepted items by the bins, which makes them look like more of a dumping ground than a valuable community service. One resident who did not want to be named, said they feel this is not only a nuisance but becomes a public health hazard. They believe that the area makes it easy for rodents to create habitats, and it also may be used as a place to hide illegal paraphernalia or actions.
