Flip Flop Comrade Miller

I don't have a problem paying my own way but the performance of this city council and mayor over the last four years doesn't instill a lot of confidence that this new tax will solve anything. COMRADE MILLER & CITY COUNCIL ARE NOT FACING FACTS....it costs too much to run the city and they have to find ways to cut costs; ie: contracting out services, reducing staff levels, holding the line on wage increases to both city employees and politicians, etc.

Garbage plan tags Miller as a flip flop
By Rob Granatstein

It's time to trash Mayor David Miller again.

Not because his idea of how to deal with our garbage -- charging homeowners a fee based on whether they have a tiny, typical or jumbo trash bin -- is a bad one in theory.

This is a user fee we support. Throw out more, pay more. Throw out less, pay less. Garbage disposal is expensive and we have to start making choices. We need to push recycling and the green bin.

Our problem is that this is a flip-flop the mayor refuses to see.

Miller has been strongly against a "bag tag" system where you are allowed to put out a certain number of garbage bags at the curb, and anything over that you attach a bag tag to show you've paid the price for your excesses.

Miller has always said -- rightfully so -- that this would cause illegal dumping.

His system of three bin sizes is fine. But won't everyone just buy the small, get-the-maximum-tax-break-size bin? Then watch what happens.

Too much garbage this week? Maybe all your trash doesn't fit in your little bin. Perhaps it's Christmas and the party and all the assorted paraphernalia took over your house.

So, what do you do? Well, why not tuck a little something extra into the bottom of your green bin or blue box. Or, just toss it overboard -- into the neighbour's bigger bin down the street. Or in a ravine.

Worse, you haul it down the street to the park and dump it in the city trash receptacle.

Or you commit the biggest sin of all and just flat out dump it -- rail lands, abandoned properties, hydro corridors, parking lots, all are popular spots.

See? We're back to illegal dumping.

So City Hall's plan -- worthwhile as the intent is -- not only adds more employees to the billing department and dings taxpayers for new bins to be distributed to every home, it also comes with extra staff to clean up the illegal dumping Miller had wanted to avoid, plus more by-law enforcement officers to hunt down illegal tossers.

In a perfect world this might be a good idea. Unfortunately, people aren't perfect and this could turn Toronto into a dump.