Piles of trash continue popping up where they are not supposed to in parts of Calgary, and while the city works to crack down on illegal dumping, some communities are fed up. Heaped up mattresses, building materials, clothing and empty food containers lie in piles and scattered along the edges of new developments in the northeast community of Saddleridge. People living nearby are sick of it. “It’s quite odd. I don’t know why people do this,” said Daljeet Singh, who moved to the community a year and half ago. “Whenever I go for a walk, I see this garbage dump over on this side and even on the other side,” he said pointing to an area near 87 Avenue N.E. where two undeveloped lots meet the edge of his community, which is in the final stages of construction. The junk left there illegally isn’t just an eyesore — you can smell it too. “When it rains you can’t just pass by there, it’s too stinky, like these days, it’s stinky now,” he said. The City of Calgary told CTV News it “takes illegal dumping seriously because it creates safety hazards, can attract pests, impacts the environment and wildlife, and results in cleanup costs.” The city added that illegal dumping is a growing concern, especially near vacant or open land and developing neighbourhoods, where garbage is less visible and harder to monitor. Charlie Simpson agrees. He works for one of the developers building in the area and says stuff just starts showing up. “We don’t know who does it, they just do it when nobody’s watching,” said Simpson, who works as a field services coordinator with Jubilee Engineering. “The city would have to stay here day and night to catch them … but ultimately they come and tell the developer to clean it up, which has happened a couple times.” He said his company cleaned a bunch of junk in the fall and again in the spring. The dumping impacts the neighbourhood they are nearly finished building, he said. “You can’t keep up,“ Simpson said. He pointed to a big pile of junk behind him, saying it is right beside homes where people will be moving in. It’s not far from others who already moved in, including Singh who urges people to take responsibility for their trash. “Go to the dumping ground and dump over there. Don’t dump it over here so that like we don’t get bacteria and get infections to our kids and everything,” Singh said. In 2026, the city started a public awareness campaign and installed signs to problem areas. It encourages anyone who sees illegal dumping to take photos or videos and report it to 311. “I couldn’t barely live with myself if I knew I did something like this,” Simpson said. “I take my garbage to the dump, pay my $25.” It’s a much smaller price then the potential fines of up to $10,000 if you’re caught illegally dumping. The city uses peace officers and cameras to help identify offenders, but the biggest tool is that information provided through 311 reports. Anyone who sees junk left in their neighbourhood should let the city know right away, with license plate numbers and/or photos or videos if possible.
