1,428 kg of waste pulled from Ojibway Prairie Complex

Trash collected during a recent clean-up of the Ojibway Prairie Complex by Wildlife Preservation Canada in Windsor, Ont. (Courtesy Wildlife Preservation Canada)

Windsor, Ont. -

During a clean-up this past summer, a whopping 1,428 kg of waste was removed from the Ojibway Prairie Provincial Nature Reserve  — a product of illegal dumping.

Wildlife Preservation Canada (WPC) removed shopping carts, tires, a bed, broken tiles, and car parts among other items that made up the 1,218 kg of garbage and 220 kg of recycling found in the complex.

“Illegal dumping remains an ongoing problem at the city’s only Provincial Park. Although much of the waste removed by WPC appears to have been dumped years ago, the problem persists,” a news release from the organization said. “During the week of the cleanup, WPC’s field crew found a large broken window and other trash dumped overnight. This protected natural area - soon to be part of Canada’s second National Urban Park – is sadly being treated by some as a landfill.”

The organization said the tallgrass prairie is home to one of Canada’s rarest ecosystems and supports thousands of wildlife species including more than 160 rare plants and animals, 50 of which are at risk.

One of the last and largest remnants of Ontario’s tallgrass prairie is found within the Ojibway Prairie Complex in Windsor and LaSalle, WPC said. The deep roots of prairie ecosystems help to sequester carbon, prevent soil erosion, filter rainwater and reduce flooding.

“Results of WPC’s recent cleanup are quite shocking, considering the organization had already removed over 230 kg of waste from the Ojibway Prairie in 2018,” the organization said.

According to the City of Windsor complaints of illegal dumping have been on the rise with a 64 per cent increase of calls to 311 between 2016 and 2019.

WPC said the issue is not Windsor-specific with the Essex Region Conservation Authority collected more than 680 kg of garbage from various conservation areas across the region earlier this year.

The WPC is reminding residents commercial waste items can be dropped off at the Public Drop Off Depot near Central Avenue in Windsor and bulk item pickup can be arranged by calling 311.