Illegal dumping escalates in northeast Calgary, with debris appearing almost daily

Illegal dumping is escalating across northeast Calgary, with residents in Saddle Ridge reporting that new debris appears almost every day—sofas, mattresses, chairs, and other household items abandoned on streets.

"Every morning when we wake up, you go over there, and every morning there is new stuff like sofas, bed, chairs, more dirty stuff," says Sandeep Chehal, a Saddle Ridge resident. The dumping typically happens when streets are quiet, leaving residents feeling powerless to intervene. "If someone sees someone doing a drop off, no one asks them anything because we don't have any rights to ask somebody," Chehal said. "You can take a picture, that's it."

The City of Calgary acknowledged the issue in a statement, saying illegal dumping has become a growing concern across the city, particularly in the northeast. The city has received multiple reports from Saddle Ridge specifically. Illegal dumping poses safety risks for both people and animals.

The city notes that residential loads under 550 pounds can be taken to a Calgary landfill for $25—a cost officials say is far lower than the consequences of dumping waste illegally. Anyone caught dumping illegally can face fines of up to $10,000 and may be ordered to clean up the debris they leave behind.

One resident suggested the city place more waste containers at major intersections to discourage people from abandoning garbage in neighbourhoods. Calgarians are encouraged to report illegal dumping through 311, which the city says helps identify hotspots and prioritize cleanup efforts.

However, the city has not disclosed how many illegal dumping reports it has received from Saddle Ridge specifically, the number of fines issued in the past year, or the total cost to clean up illegal dumping sites in northeast Calgary this year.