Medical health officers are monitoring trash heaps on a daily basis in case mounting garbage in Vancouver becomes a public health concern, Vancouver Coastal Health said Monday.

Garbage piles up at Renfrew Park on Monday as some Vancouver residents are using places like this as a dumping ground.
(Doris Sun/CBC)

If the trash is deemed to be a public health hazard, medical health officers have the ability to order garbage collection, said Laurie Dawkins, the authority's director of communications and public affairs.

Dr. Reka Gustafson, who is with the health authority, said the garbage piles are "not a health hazard" at this point, but affect the city's esthetics.

There are no risks but concerns are real, said Dawkins.

"Think of diapers on the Downtown Eastside, there's obviously a greater concern about that as well. These are the kinds of things that can potentially breed disease," she said.

On Monday, CBC News took a tour down the Renfrew Park in East Vancouver and found the mounting garbage is luring flies and other critters.

Garbage bags spill from the parking lot of Renfrew Park on Monday, causing what health officials call a nasty nuisance.
(Doris Sun/CBC)

Jerry Dobrovolny, Vancouver's assistant city engineer, said the city may move to have garbage collection declared an essential service if it becomes a concern.

"In the past strikes, garbage was not an essential service at the beginning of the strike" but was later declared essential, he said.

Outside workers in Vancouver walked off the job on July 20, forcing the city to suspend some services, including residential garbage collection.

Vancouver's inside workers walked off the job on July 23, affecting services such as city-run day-care facilities, building inspections and parking bylaw enforcement. Library workers in Vancouver walked off July 26.

Some 5,000 workers are off the job.