The owner of a junk disposal company, whose truck was caught dumping garbage along the side the road in Maple Ridge, said he has been receiving multiple hate calls and threats to himself and his family since the ordeal began.
At about 8 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 19, a truck with the company's name on the side of it, was seen dumping more than a dozen garbage bags full of refuse, plus additional garbage in the bushes along Dewdney Trunk Road and 272 Street.
Devean Mathew Schoenfelder, owner of Dev's Disposal Transport, drives the same route every day to get back to his home in Mission. He took photographs of the truck with its box in the air, because he knew there was nowhere at that site to dump.
"I was trying to block him in, but he got away pretty quick," explained Schoenfelder, when the occupants of the vehicle noticed they were being photographed.
Schoenfelder said he contacted city bylaws, which was closed at the time, and Ridge Meadows RCMP, who followed up with him later that evening.
He also posted the photos to as many community groups online that he knew of 鈥� where they have made the rounds, with multiple people commenting on the business's website, lambasting the owner for the company's perceived actions, some even making racist remarks.
He said he later learned, from the city, that some of the materials dumped were considered hazardous, including drywall containing asbestos.
However, Junk Be Gone Disposal Ltd. owner Sarj Dhaliwal told The News an employee of his, who often takes the truck home, took the truck that afternoon at 4:30 p.m., and it was empty.
Dhaliwal said he fell asleep that evening with his three-year-old son and didn't find out until the following morning what had happened, waking up to 100 hateful messages.
"I was in shock," he said, adding that the calls keep coming.
"I'm getting so many hate calls, threats, pictures of my home, threats against my family, pictures of people with their heads shot off," said the 60-year-old business owner, who is also the father of a baby.
Dhaliwal said the first thing he did was terminate the employment of the individual and pick up the truck.
He then he drove to Maple Ridge with his other crew members. But by the time they arrived at the dump site, at about 9 a.m., the city had already picked up the garbage and had relocated it to the Cottonwood landfill.
His crew, he said, picked it up from that landfill site and delivered the garbage to the waste transfer station for proper disposal.
He also claimed he talked to the bylaws officer, who, he said, closed any criminal investigation into the incident and reduced the fine that could of been as high as $2,800 to $500.
City bylaws does not, however, handle criminal investigations. That is up to the Ridge Meadows RCMP who confirmed they attended the scene and are currently working with bylaws on this matter.
"The file is still under investigation," RCMP added.
Dhaliwal told The News there was four and a half hours between when the employee took the truck home and when the dump was made, so he suspects the former staffer used the truck to pick up a load of garbage from a work site in Maple Ridge. Dhaliwal is adamant it was not his garbage.
He did put out a partially contradictory statement on the company's Facebook page, saying he was unaware a company truck was used by one of his employees.
"Yesterday evening, one of my employees took a company vehicle without my knowledge and illegally dumped garbage in Maple Ridge. As soon as I learned about this, I immediately went to the site myself, cleaned up the mess, and have been in contact with the City of Maple Ridge, bylaw enforcement, and the RCMP to fully cooperate," said Dhaliwal in the statement.
"I am a small business owner with a young family, and I鈥檝e built this business on honesty and hard work. This incident does not reflect who we are or how we operate," he said, apologizing to the community and thanking everyone who brought the matter to his attention.
The City of Maple Ridge said city staff responded immediately to secure the site, assess the impacts, and begin clean-up.
鈥淭he city takes illegal dumping very seriously, and this incident shows how quickly we can respond when the community, our staff, and businesses work together," said Maple Ridge Mayor Dan Ruimy.
"We thank the community for bringing these concerns forward quickly, our staff for their swift action, and the company for taking responsibility and removing the material. Protecting our natural spaces is a shared responsibility, and together we can ensure they remain safe and clean for everyone,鈥� added Ruimy.
Dhaliwal says he did everything in his power to make the situation right and just wants to do right by the City of Maple Ridge. He said he is planning to contact the city to volunteer his time and maybe one of his employee's time for future clean-up efforts in the city.
"That's not my character. That's now who I am," he said about the incident. "I'm not about to ruin my business over a $100 dump."
The city is asking anyone who witnesses illegal dumping in progress to call 604-463-9581 or 604-467-7305. For more information on safe waste disposal, people can go to: MapleRidge.ca/Waste.
