A popular playground in Mono has been closed off after the discovery of shattered glass in the sand.
The discovery of the glass came three weeks ago. A company was brought in to sift through the sand and so far they have filled two 20-litre buckets with shards.
“When we arrived there was glass all over the playground equipment, under the playground equipment, under the swing set, strewn everywhere,” says James Van Stralen, owner of Sunshine Landscape.
It’s not uncommon for trash, glass or other litter to be found at playgrounds, but officials are calling this an unprecedented find.
“The sand is just so soft, that if they were to throw the beer bottles into the playground, they wouldn't break, so this is obviously people coming up and they've taken the beer bottles and they have smashed them against pieces of playground,” says Kimberley Perryman, director of recreation.
The sand has been sifted through two more times since crews were initially contacted. On Friday, more glass was found.
The town doesn’t know if it is all from one instance or if someone keeps putting more in.
“I'm shocked, taken aback by it,” one resident said. “This is a nice neighbourhood area and like everybody uses this and a lot of kids use it.”
The town has already spent $1,500 sifting through sand. However, replacing the sand could cost up to $12,000.
The playground will remain closed until the town is certain no glass is in the sand.
