The Lakeside Cemetery in George's River, N.S., has a garbage problem, and those who manage it say a lot of it is coming from visitors themselves.
Marylynn Hurley was at the cemetery Saturday when she noticed the trash behind all of the headstones.
"I think it’s terrible. This is a place where we come to remember people. This is a place I came to remember someone on Saturday, and to have this so close to where we pay our respects is just disgraceful," says Hurley.
Some of the garbage is flowers cleaned up from graves. But there are also cigarette packages, plastic bags and even an old vacuum cleaner tossed in the nearby woods.
The cemetery is run by a not-for-profit board. They've had issues with illegal dumping in the past, but with limited funds they don't have other options.
"If people would only take a bag with them and put their garbage in it and take it home with them, these things wouldn't happen," says cemetery manager Elsie Bennett.
Bennett says she and her caretakers have gotten rid of piles of garbage three or four times this year, but they simply don't have the money for a dumpster. She says having more volunteers would help.
Hurley simply wants to see the trash gone.
"I would expect this to be taken care of and either taken out of here or put into a responsible garbage," she says.
With files from CTV Atlantic’s Ryan MacDonald.
