Rec vehicles dumped in the forest

[Relentless]

https://www.castanet.net/edition/news-s ... htm#211020

So apparently what started out as an individual seeing an ad for a free burned out motorhome on a Facebook Buy and Sell group and wanting it for parts, turned out that he couldn't get rid of it, once he acquired it.

How the OFTF got involved and the story got changed is beyond comprehension, as this unit was not left in the bush!
The guy who picked it up, wasn't even on the news.
Anyone having or taking possession of a motor vehicle or trailer is responsible for it until ownership changes hands.

As far as anyone figuring the system has a problem, it really doesn't.
We live in a recycling style of society, things must be separated, sorted and disposed of in an orderly fashion.

For anyone to think that there should be a place for rec vehicle owners to dispose of their burned out units and walk away without getting their hands dirty is nothing short of pure laziness, as someone has to perform the work!

The same laziness which directs hooligans to litter in the bush, or dispose of these units in the bush.

The though of someone suggesting to torch a motor vehicle in an attempt to dismantle it is totally insane to say the least!

Houses and mobile homes get demolished every day of the week, it's a lot of work to strip, separate and recycle items if possible, and landfill/recycler rules determine what goes where.

This summer I demolished a mobile home that was infested with mice and rats, it was a lot of work dismantling and separating different material types, but it is the right way to do it. The owner had lazy hillbilly type friends that suggested burning it was the best solution. NOT!

Burning is a solution for firewood, but not the correct one in these cases!

Surely, some hard work and a few friends could make quick work of the burned out unit, and dispose of it properly.

[okanaganforesttaskforce]

Something needs to be done about getting rid of motorhomes, campers and tent trailers.

It's a huge problem and there is no where to take them once there life span is done. How is someone to get rid of them if there is no place to take them.

The system is broken when we are expected to recycle and dispose of items but don't have a place to take them.

We all pay tax when we buy a vehicle even if it's been sold 5 times tax has been paid all 5 times. Some of the money from that tax should be put towards the disposal of it. If not the tax an environmental fee should be placed on them to have them scraped at some point.

https://www.castanet.net/news/Kelowna/2 ... -burned-RV

[Fancy]

I'll disagree with the owner having to pay for it since quite a few vehicles that end up in the bush are stolen.

[voice of reason]

you could say the same for old boats and houseboats.people have nowhere to take them and it costs more than they are worth to fix them up so they end up ditched in a field or tied up on the lake and abandoned.someone has to be able to recycle these things and make a dollar

[2manyfords]

The Kelowna landfill will take old boat hulls (fiberglass) They will need to have been stripped of motor/outdrive, and fuel tank removed, and as much metal removed as possible. (and of course all oil removed). I've gotten rid of several hulls this way, and have never had a problem......

I do however, believe there should be a way to recycle the fiberglass, rather than going into the landfill.

Houseboats on the other hand, are treated just like RV's. A real pain to dispose of.......(likely the reason they are abandoned on the lake, and left up to others to deal with)

[KB886]

First off, nowhere in that video does it say this particular item was found in the bush. A member of oftf decided to try and help someone by getting rid of it for someone who couldn't. This person clearly assumed there was somewhere to take it and was wrong and is now stuck with it. Reaon for oftf's involvement was to make it aware that people want to get rid of these things and there should be somewhere to take it. Not everyone has the means to dismantle an entire recreational vehicle. Now as for it burning wasn't because they wanted to torch it, it caught fire on accident and was not on purpose. *removed*

[Fancy]

viewtopic.php?f=23&t=75421

[TylerM4]

Recyclers are private businesses. We can't live in a free enterprise society and force businesses to operate a certain way at the same time. They won't take them because there's no profit in it.

If the landfills are going to refuse to take them then there should be a disposal fee levied at time of purchase. It's the model that's commonly used for this scenario and it would make sense to apply the same model here.

At the end of the day - it's not environmentally responsible to dump an RV/Camper at the landfill. It should be recycled. If the cost of the recycling process outweighs the value of the recycled material we have a bit of a problem. That cost difference needs to be made up somehow.

We as a society need to make a decision that basically boils down to 3 options:
1) Screw the environment and dump them as is.
2) Recycle and have tax payers pay the bill.
3) Recycle and have owners pay the bill.

As I consider RVs a luxury item, I strongly believe in option #3. And I believe the best way to proceed is by charging a disposal fee at time of purchase.

[Fancy]

What does the disposal fee do if there's no where to take them and the City doesn't want the responsibility?

[Relentless]

This is how the news story reads:

Okanagan Forest Task Force organizer Kane Blake took a gutted and burnt RV from a man with a disability and cannot dispose of it.
Blake tried to bring the RV to landfills, metal recyclers and scrap yard, but everyone turned him away.

Yet, I saw(on a Facebook Buy and Sell group) another neighborhood resident stated that he would come and pick it up for parts. The burned out motorhome was on his trailer behind a truck he drove, parked in front of his house.

So, it appears that the story might not necessarily be a true account of what took place, and the guy who picked it up from the disabled person wasn't even in the news complaining that he couldn't get rid of it.

Many old dis-functional trailers and motorhomes end up being dumped in our backwoods by "Hillbilly types" who are too lazy to deal with their responsibilities!

Furthermore, anyone who decides to pickup a burned out rv for whatever reason, should have a plan for it, because it is not the responsibility of the City, or Landfill, or metal recycler to deal with!

Over the years I have seen many people dismantling dis-functional rv's to a state where it can be disposed of properly, and they even got money for it when done properly. The biggest problem is the money received doesn't justify the labor required to dismantle, thus the problem for Illegal dumping.

It would be a good news story if it started with the original owner and the fire damage, then the series of events leading up to this point. Maybe Castanet could do this to clear up the whole situation. Usually fire damage to an rv is dealt with through an Insurance claim, but I don't think this was the case.

[KB886]

The neighbour picked it up maybe he did want parts but either way he was trying to get rid of it for someone else. *removed*

[Fancy]

I've posted on the other thread - I thought Kane picked up the RV from a person that was disabled so couldn't dispose of it himself. I don't get why you thought it was in the bush either.

[KB886]

Kane did not pick it up. Another member of oftf did and came to Kane to ask how to get rid of it. Also clearly it didn't have insurance on it so you can't make a claim. Now as I've noticed trying to explain anything to you is pointless because you know everything. Now have a nice day

[Hassel99]

I donated my father in laws old RV to the kidney foundation, we got a tax receipt and they hauled it away.

https://www.kidneycar.ca/donate-your-vehicle/

Sounds like people need to try harder.

[Fancy]

They won't accept vehicles if they are full of garbage (this one might be in that category) or with missing tires (another possibility here).