Rice says no city funding has been offered to help the team clean up the mess on public property

Robert Rice estimates it will cost about $12,000 to pay the fees to properly dispose of the trash

A local business owner and his friends are trying to assemble the resources to clean up the trash

SURREY (CityNews) — Just below the Pattullo Bridge and meters from the Fraser River lies mountains of illegal trash dumped in Surrey over the years. But what’s being done about it?

Robert Rice, a local business owner, says he can’t believe every time he turns around there’s more to be found and he has a plan to tackle the problem.

he calls it a “trashpocalypse.”

“Normally when it’s something little it’s easy, you just grab it and stuff it in your pocket. But when it gets to this level you can’t just stop and grab a garbage bag,” he syas.

It’s not just the visual eyesore that Rice is worried about, there’s everything from needles to containers labelled “corrosive” littering the stretch by the highway. Rice counted at least three gas tanks from cars among the trash Saturday.

“It doesn’t stop. It just keeps getting worse. I mean you look at it and there’s dilapidated drywall throughout and drywall can contain asbestos.”

He and his friends are now trying to assemble the resources to clean up the trash.

“The manpower alone is going to be huge and then there’s fees on top of that for disposing of it properly,” he says, adding he estimates it will cost $12,000 for the cleanup.

Surrey city councillor Steven Pettigrew has reached out to Rice offering a meeting.

As of yet, Rice says no city funding has been offered to help the team clean up the mess on public property.

In a statement the City of Surrey writes: “City crews will begin cleaning up the site located on City property. The waste that is on private property has been reported to the bylaws department, which will work with the property owners to ensure that the site is cleaned up.”

Rice hopes to start clearing as soon as he assembles enough money and volunteers.

Anyone interested in pitching in can email Rice at robertrice011890@gmail.com.