On his morning walk to the university, Saanich resident and student Christopher Shepherd saw something he’d never encountered before. Scattered on the ground along Sinclair Road, trapped in the grass and mixed with gravel were countless small teal specks.
“I thought it was maybe some weird compost powder at first because I didn't want to believe it was plastic,” said Shepherd.
But after kneeling down and closely inspecting the teal-coloured particles, Shepherd discovered that they were plastic shavings – ranging from fingernail-sized pieces to dust – coming from nearby heaps of plastic pipes of the same colour.
In the following days, the young man investigated the issue and believed he had found the source of these shavings.
“They were sort of grinding [the pipe] down and I actually asked them if they could make sure it gets cleaned up,” said Shepherd. “A few days later it was gone so that was nice.”
While acknowledging the workers' goodwill, the UVic student noticed new piles of shavings on his daily walks to classes.
He also noticed that while some workers used mats resembling paint-roller pans to catch the falling shavings, they were ineffective at collecting all the pieces.
Over time, wind and rain caused the shavings to scatter further along Sinclair Road, from Clarndon Road to Cadboro Heights Lane, which sparked environmental concerns for Shepherd.
“It's not very pleasant and it's probably bad for the environment,” he said. “I'm worried about microplastics.”
The risk of the shavings trickling down in the neighbourhood’s watershed has the Saanich resident concerned about the impact of the shavings on the broader ecosystem.
Although the student mentioned speaking with the contractor three times since January, the issue persists. He emphasized that he doesn't want to place blame on anyone but simply hopes the situation can be resolved.
The shavings are a byproduct of the ongoing Sinclair Road upgrade, an $18-million project aimed at installing sidewalks, protected bike lanes, three pedestrian crossings, and a roundabout at the intersection with Cadboro Bay Road. The district has contracted Don Mann Excavating Ltd. to carry out the work.
Saanich stated that it is aware of the situation and is currently investigating the issue.
Saanich News reached out to the Mann Group but didn’t hear back before deadline.
