More than 170 derelict cars in Sandpit got drained, crushed into cubes and scrapped off-island this fall.
Using surplus funds that came from taxes paid by people in Sandspit, the North Coast Regional District (NCRD) partnered with Kristoff Trucking to offer free towing and scrapping of derelict cars or trucks.
“We’ve been trying for close to a decade to get a solution to this,” said Evan Putterill, the elected NCRD director for Area E, Moresby Island.
Putterill noted that on Graham Island, there are a few properties storing at least as many derelict vehicles as were removed from Sandspit, but it’s tough to fund removals and the local landfill can’t take vehicles.
“We lucked out with a contractor that was able to make ends meet in terms of the scrap costs,” he said of the Sandspit program.
Following Sandspit’s free derelict vehicle removal program, the Village of Daajing Giids ran a subsidized one for residents until Oct. 31, also with Kristoff Trucking, that cost $250 per vehicle.