A large illegal dump site in Cape Breton that cost thousands of dollars to clean up last year is once again a big mess.

A man was charged with illegal dumping under a municipal by-law in last year’s case, but it clearly hasn’t put an end to the problem, and a local environmentalist says something has to be done.

Dylan Yates is treading on familiar and frustrating territory. An illegal dump site in Reserve Mines, N.S. that Yates sounded the alarm about more than a year ago, is once again over-run with someone else’s trash.

“When this site was cleaned up, it was a big win for the community,” says Yates.

According to Yates, the CBRM spent roughly $20,000 in cleaning up the site last year.

While no one has been charged this time around, Yates says he has his suspicions about who might be responsible, and that he has been contacted by nearby residents.

How the trash is being disposed of, and how close it is to a local water tower.

“What makes this site so concerning is that the individual is actually digging holes and putting the garbage in the hole, and burying it over with dirt,” explains Yates. “So when you have toxic chemicals and whatnot being buried, the soil could be contaminated, the groundwater could potentially be contaminated.”

While the entrance to the dump site is blocked by a locked gate, another entrance that runs through a private property at the back of the site is not.

Yates feels that if possible, blocking that access path could be a part of the solution.

“I think that road could be blocked off with stones, or even guardrails. I think that would help,” says Yates.

He says he asked the province’s Department of Environment for a site assessment to determine whether there’s been any contamination, but he’s been told it’s a municipal property.

“The N.S. Department of Environment did inform us that that they will be getting in contact with the municipality to ensure this doesn’t happen again, because it was a significant clean-up last year and we just don’t want that to happen again,” says Yates.

Yates says that he will continue to be in contact with the Department of Environment and the municipality to try and find a solution to the persistent problem, although he says if charges aren’t stopping the garbage from being dumped, he isn’t sure what will.

With files from CTV Atlantic’s Ryan MacDonald.