Men face severe penalties after brazen crime is caught on security camera: 'Don't care about anything but themselves'

Two Canadian men were spotted illegally dumping waste into a creek, according to Global News.

Security camera footage captured the moment when the perpetrators dumped construction debris and what looked like paint into Noons Creek, between Coquitlam and Port Moody, British Columbia.

This was especially destructive as the location is upstream from the Port Moody Ecological Society, which actively hatches salmon.

"The scary thing is like, when stuff gets dumped into the creek, the creek's high, fairly high right now, it could come down and destroy everything, because it was done at night by the look of it, and it could come down here today and find everything dead," said the Society's vice president David Bennie, per Global News. "We just put, I don't know, 10, 15,000, no, about 25,000 salmon eggs from Chum Salmon in our hatchery. So they could destroy all those."

Wild salmon populations on the West Coast have been in steep decline due to overharvesting and habitat degradation. Salmon farms incur their own environmental costs as an alternative. Salmon serve as important food sources for humans and wildlife alike. When salmon die after spawning upstream, they feed entire ecosystems.

The worst part of this illegal dumping is that there are nearby locations that handle construction waste and can recycle paint. This is why knowing your recycling options is vitally important.

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Not only does proper disposal prevent the destruction of shared natural resources, but it also avoids stiff fines once caught. BC authorities are currently investigating this case. Fines for illegal dumping in the area can be up to a million dollars and six months in jail.

Locals were thoroughly unimpressed with the behavior of those responsible for dumping in Noons Creek and thought little of those who would pollute their waters.

"Ignorance. Careless, don't care about anything but themselves, selfish people," Bennie said, per Global News.

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