At first glance, a Minnow Lake neighbourhood appears to have been hit by unseasonably cold conditions, with an accumulation of what appears to be snow piling up in gutters.
It’s not snow, but polystyrene foam (best known by its brand name of Styrofoam) fragments from the nearby 137-unit seniors building currently under construction on Second Avenue North.
With polystyrene foam fragments “snowing” onto their neighbourhood, Camelot Drive area residents are complaining to the city, province and media about the construction practices of Bawa Hospitality Group, the company behind the building.
“It’s terrible, because there’s nothing you can do,” area resident Kevin Cooper told Sudbury.com, adding the tiny foam fragments have gotten into everything.
The fragments have even gotten into homes through air conditioner intakes, stuck onto pets, through window screens and by opening exterior doors.
“My computer’s full of it,” area resident Sue Brett said, adding that although she supported the seniors housing complex development, “not at my expense.”
“It’s not biodegradable, for one, it’s carcinogenic for two, and our pets are covered with it,” Cooper said. “They can’t go out to use the washroom because they come inside and they’re full of it on their coats.”
Area resident Marija Bernstein said her cat, Roxy, comes into her house sprinkled with foam particles it tries to lick off of itself before she’s able to brush it out.
“There’s a big mess, but I’m more concerned about the animals and the environment,” she said.
A city spokesperson said their customer service line, 311, has received eight calls about the issue, and that the city has reached out to both the Ministry of Labour and Ministry of the Environment and Climate Change.
“MOECC indicated the property owner had submitted a voluntary abatement plan indicating cleanup would begin by today,” the city spokesperson said on Wednesday..
“The ministry will consider issuing an order to comply if cleanup does not occur. The contractor, consultants and owners of the property, have ultimate responsibility for the conditions of the job site.”
From a city bylaw perspective, the spokesperson reported that existing municipal legislation does not cover this situation.
Sudbury.com reached out to the Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks for comment, but have not received a response.
Ward 11 Coun. Bill Leduc told Sudbury.com that residents have also reached out to him, and that he has forwarded their complaints to the city.
“It’s the responsibility of the contractor to clean it up,” he said. “It’s an unfortunate situation where the Styrofoam does get blown around.”
A tour of the site on Tuesday revealed foam fragments throughout several properties on Camelot Drive, scattered throughout yards, roofs and swimming pools, and forming in piles wherever the wind has collected it.
One resident’s front yard had received an initial pass by a cleanup crew earlier in the day, but foam fragments, including a few larger finger-sized chunks, were still present.
The polystyrene foam is being installed around the building's exterior to serve as insulation, and area residents report seeing crews shave pieces of it to size and blow away in the wind.
On Monday, Brett said, “It was like it was snowing.”
Sudbury.com reached out to Bawa Hospitality Group owner Danny Bawa, who questioned the relevance of a story about the polystyrene foam issue and said he was going to think twice about how to use his advertising budget if these kinds of “stupid things” are being written about.
Cleanup, he said, is being done “every day,” with workers using vacuums to suck up fragments.
Prior to ending the phone conversation, Bawa declined to answer a question regarding what mitigating measures would be used to prevent polystyrene foam fragments from blowing into the neighbourhood during the material’s installation across the balance of the building's exterior.
Thus far, only a portion of the building has been covered in the material.
On Wednesday morning, an area resident who requested their name not be used told Sudbury.com that residents were told crews would be shaving polystyrene foam to size at the side of the building on Thursday, and that a cleanup crew would be returning.
Bawa has previously expressed plans to expand the project’s footprint to include another building at the property, and Cooper said area residents are now talking about fighting it.
The company is also behind the 150-unit Rockwood and Algonquin Retirement Home proposed to take shape on Algonquin Road.
Last year, homeowners in Toronto reported similar complaints regarding polystyrene foam blowing around their neighbourhood. In the CBC’s report, it’s noted the City of Toronto encourages contractors and property owners to use tarping and vacuuming to capture material before it spreads.
Tyler Clarke covers city hall and political affairs for Sudbury.com.
