In British Columbia, Canada, two men were caught polluting a local creek. CityNews reported that the two men were fined after video footage caught them dumping buckets of paint into Noons Creek in the city of Coquitlam.
A resident shared footage from their home's security camera, revealing the two men carrying buckets and disposing of the paint in the creek at night. The video footage was posted on social media, which helped officials eventually identify and fine the two men.
"As a result [of the video, which has been circulating on social media], our city team was able to identify those responsible, and we will be able to issue multiple fines for these offenses," Jaime Boan, general manager of engineering and public works, said in the CityNews report.
Noons Creek flows into Port Moody and Coquitlam and serves as an "important fish habitat," according to Boan. The creek is also home to a volunteer-run fish hatchery. It not only serves as an environmental education hub but also a breeding spot for salmon.
Luckily, in this case, Boan told CityNews that they "found no evidence of paint contamination." However, dumping paint into local waterways has major environmental consequences. When paint enters waterways, the chemicals contaminate the area, harming aquatic wildlife. In severe cases, wildlife can die from the chemical contamination.
Once dumped into the environment, conventional paints do not break down within a meaningful time frame. As a result, the chemicals from the paint remain in the local food chain, as small organisms ingest these toxic particles and eventually pass them onto larger predators. This disrupts the entire ecosystem, threatening the survival of local species.
Properly disposing of paint is essential for protecting the environment. You can take unwanted paint to your local recycling or hazardous waste collection center to prevent it from polluting local ecosystems. In Coquitlam, for example, residents can bring paint to the United Boulevard Recycling and Waste Centre, as CityNews reported.
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