Aaron Easton is fed up with catching more tires than fish along the shoreline of Twelve Mile Creek.

So the St. Catharines fisherman has swapped his rod for a grappling hook specially made by a local welder and enlisted the help of his nephew, Kevin, to haul dirty rubber relics out of the creek, not far from the Henley Bridge.

So far, they’ve amassed quite the catch.

“We’ve probably hauled more than 100 tires out of the water, and that’s just close to the shore — our rope is only 20 feet long,” Easton said. “We didn’t realize there would be this many when we started … we just kept throwing, and they (the tires) just kept popping up.”

Easton and his nephew have built three towering piles of muddy rubber on the shores of the creek.

“It’s pretty disgusting. You have to wonder, why would people do this?” he said, gazing out over the water, where several more pieces of road rubber still floated out of reach of his homemade hook.

Closer to shore, a turtle basked on top of another floating tire stuffed with old plastic bags.

“The area is so nice, but so filthy.”

Easton has noticed the tires accumulating over the years as he fished the shallow area for bass and pike.

But his nephew also fished out some surprises, like rusting shopping carts and propane tanks. Easton is hoping some government or volunteer group will properly dispose of the rubber he and his nephew dragged from the depths.

Ontario Power Generation, the owner of much of the shoreline of Twelve Mile Creek, is planning to pick up the tires, spokesman Ted Gruetzner said.

He said the power company will work with area property owners to see if they can’t prevent future dumping, possibly with a fence at the top of the slope.

“It’s unfortunate that people feel they have to dispose of these things in this way,” he said. “It’s really not acceptable.”

The area below Ontario St., near the QEW, is a favourite dumping ground for trash.

In 2008, The Standard reported on a large pile of floating garbage in the same area, including four rusting industrial-sized barrels.

The Ministry of the Environment and Ontario Power Generation investigated and ultimately cleaned out much of the rubbish.

At the time, OPG environmental adviser Tony Van Oostrom said the company is forced to clean up waterway junk every year. In 2007, for example, OPG pulled more than 100 tires out of Lake Gibson.

Junk dumped on public property should be brought to the attention of the city or Niagara Region, which also enforces an anti-dumping bylaw.

mvandongen@stcatharinesstandard.ca

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Contacts for illegallydumped garbage

The Region’s waste info line at 905-356-4141 should be your first call. Identify the exact location of the garbage and closest major cross streets. If you see illegal dumping in progress, try to get the licence plate of the dumper.

If you find dumped garbage on City of St. Catharines property, like a park or city street, call 905-688- 5600.

If you notice something that could be leaking, contact the Ministry of the Environment’s Spills Action Centre toll-free at 1-800- 268-6060.

On private property, garbage cleanup is the responsibility of the landowner. However, proven dumpers can be charged under antidumping bylaws.

via Fisherman nets scores of old tires in creek – St. Catharines Standard – Ontario, CA.