Where are Comrade Miller's Garbagepolice? Possibly checking the grey boxes in Etobicoke?
Ground zero of the trash bin rebellion (1)
Posted on 11 December 2008 by Jack
In a laneway behind tidy Sellers Avenue, not far from Corso Italia (Dufferin Street and St. Clair Avenue), is a pile of garbage: 40 full garbage bags, one antifreeze container and four carpets, piled around and on top of one hideabed sofa (tan with dark red flowers) and one car tire.
This is a nice neighbourhood: people on Sellers have decorations up and signs saying “Merry Christmas,” and wrap their shrubs in burlap against the winter chill. So most don’t take kindly to this trash, stacked against a garage.
“It’s disgusting around here,” says Carlo Ricci, 18, who works at No Frills. “It’s always like chairs, broken furniture. Sometimes it’s so bad you gotta like move some of it to drive by.”
It was garbage day on this street today, but the trucks left this big pile of trash. Why? Because it is not in the city’s grey bins, and bears no city-issued garbage tags.
Since Nov. 1, when the city began requiring people to pay for the trash they throw out, illegal piles of trash have multiplied, says Councillor Cesar Palacio (Davenport), whose office alerted the Post to the pile behind Sellers Ave.
“This is the result of this garbage tax,” says Mr. Palacio. “Many people have not received their containers yet, many people have not received their pink tags.” As a result, some are dumping trash wherever they can, he says.
“The city is giving poor service,” he adds. “I am not blaming the front line people. They are working very diligently.” He says he has asked the cleanly people of his ward to become his eyes and ears. “The phones are ringing,” Mr. Palacio says.
Note: I could suggest something here but I won’t. I’m certain active minds have all kinds of really neat ideas to make the city come around. A face book group might be one way to start getting things organized.
Popularity: 11% [?]
December 11th, 2008 at 2:57 pm
I have complained repeatedly to my councillor Janet Davis about the bins to no avail. I’m certainly not against paying for garbage and reducing our output but what really got my back up was paying 50 bucks a piece for them to be made in the U.S. We are going to see more of this stuff happening but our mayor will do zip about it, he has the power…ciao
December 11th, 2008 at 3:32 pm
I’m thinking about a garbage day in Toronto. Rather than payout big bucks for no service why not organize and have a trash night?
On a certain evening each week Torontonians take their garbage to city hall and desposit it on their doorstep “en masse”. That way the city is forced to pick up the mess…it costs people nothing…and the result will be hilarious.
Make it every Wednesday evening and have fun.
If the authorities object just start dropping it everywhere (except your own driveway). It’s called civil disobedience and Miller will soon get the hint.
Point: “Why is it that Toronto is the only city in the nation with a huge garbage problem that affects everyone for miles and miles?”
Maybe it’s Miller?