April 11, 2007
Dog Poop Crisis Rocks City, Goodbye Zero Tolerance, Toronto FC Boasts Delicious Treats, A Loney Ceeb
City council says up to 2,500 tonnes of dog poop are deposited in park trash bins every year. This is problematic since our garbage dumps in Michigan refuse to take it. So where should we put our growing heap of canine feces? Councillor Pam McConnell (Ward 28, Toronto Centre-Rosedale) thinks the city should provide green bins in parks, while Councillor Paula Fletcher (Ward 30, Toronto-Danforth) doesn't think it's a big deal for dog owners to carry the waste home and flush/compost it. What are your thoughts on this crap?
Environment Canada warns that a late-season blizzard could take Toronto by storm this evening.
The Liberals are introducing a new legislation to eliminate the zero tolerance policy in Ontario schools. If watching MTV's Juvies has taught me and the Liberal party anything, it's that suspending and expelling troubled kids is not the best way to fight youth delinquency. Thanks, MTV.
Toronto FC fans will be treated to a mélange of international snack foods at the concession stand when the field opens later this month. Portuguese cornbread sandwiches, chicken rotis, Jamaican patties, fish and chips, bratwurst, corn on the cob, hot dogs, corned beef on rye and "Ye Olde Chip Butty". Perhaps this "football" doesn't sound like such a tedious sport after all.
Bell Canada and local arts groups are making utility boxes pretty.
Both the Habs and the Leafs are out of the playoffs and nobody's watching the CBC. What will happen to all the advertisers? Poor Ceeb.
Photo courtesy of hylaride in the Torontoist Flickr Pool.
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I already had my seasons tickets for TFC, but WOW, thats an awesome spread! I'mma get my eat on and my fat on!
Have they noticed how many more tons of poop stay on the ground? Make it harder to dispose of, and that's where it's all going to end up. If people can't be bothered to pick it up and throw it out now, I'm sure many more will never get around to taking it home with them. Green bins or bust.
Telling dog owners to carry feces home with them is like telling everyone else to carry their other garbage home with them and getting rid of all trash cans altogether. Ain't gonna happen; more so when poo is involved.
I'm not going to carry a plastic bag full of fresh turd home to my condo (where there are no green bin facilities), dump the crap out of the bag into the toilet, and then put the feces-smeared bag in my kitchen trash. Are you kidding me?!
That being said, there is a special place in hell for dog owners who just leave their pet's crap on the ground. I've stepped in many a turd while walking over to pick up my own dog's, and most of us know that dog poop smells about as pleasant as a durian inside a dead horse's ass on a hot day.
Green bins for dog poo would be awesome. I did make an effort to carry the bag o' stink home with me when I lived in a house and had a green bin, but now that I live in a highrise with no composting, the poo's gotta go in the street garbage bins.
Between our reliance on plastic bags and our diligence in actually picking up our pet's poo, responsible dog-owners seem to be getting the shitty end of the stick. Some sort of kiosk or bin with biodegradable bags would be a great solution. Either that or the city should permanantly hire one of those poo pick-up companies dog owners can get to come and clean up their backyards.
Or both.
Is it too late for to add a dog poop bin to the Street Furniture RFP with the provision that ad space be confined to the interior?
ha ha!
today i photographed 3 piles of dog sh!t with American flags stuck in them in the Queen and Techumseh area...i think someone is trying to tell us something about the green bin idea....
What they need is to put a composter in every park: I can't link because I'm not signed in, but a quick google of "dog poop composter" will find dozens. Basically, it's a pit with water and enzymes, covered with a lid. The poop breaks down quickly and is absorbed by the soil: the remains become soil. If kids falling into them, or the lid freezing onto them in winter is a concern, then build chimneys the height of waste bins on the cover and put a 'roof' on the chimney.
Poop digesters, dog waste composters, doggie porta-potties, call 'em what you will: they'll keep the poop from smelling, they'll digest/compost it onsite, and they'll fertilize the lawn.
No downside.
In Japan if you have garbage, you bring it home with you. When I was there last year not once did I see a for-public-use garbage can (let alone recycling or compost bins). Imagine how much worse the litter would be in Toronto if we expected people to be responsible.
Heaping bags of poop!
April 11th, 2007 by cdg
The duly elected Council members are at it again.
Can you believe it, those bastard dog owners are picking-up their dog's (ahem) business, and putting it into the public trash cans! We should follow them home and poison their water! Infidels!
Some members of council believe that it is in the best interest of the public that dog owners take their pets poop home to compost instead of using a convenient public trash bin. (They are overflowing) Sounds like a nice idea Paula Fletcher (Ward 30), but this is not practical. Imagine for a moment, walking into Korry's, The Big Carrot, CD Rom Store or any of the other shops while out with good ol' Fido - now, when you enter the shop you are carrying a steamy bag. I am sure the shop-keeps would FLIP.
I have read that the idea of placing green bins will not work, because the city composting unit cannot handle the volume. HEY BUILD A BIGGER ONE! While you are at it, get apartment and condo dwellers using a green bin too. The "Genius" Mayor Miller (pew) may be too busy closing back-room deals for landfills - Mr Mayor Green Jeans should max out our composting capacity. It makes more sense to develop compost facilities than to re-model city hall. Hey, what does the Mayors "Climate Change" Pope think? New wallpaper or some green bins?
Paula Fletcher and other members had better put down the koolaid for a moment and do something real when it comes to greening the city. You couldn't stop Wal-Mart, the air is not getting any better, businesses are still leaving the Danforth - get to work on issues that truly affect the ward. Breathe much? Indeed.