By David Topping

At a press conference at Metro Hall earlier today, as CUPE protesters chanted outside (sometimes loud enough to drown out the speakers’ microphone), city manager Joseph Pennachetti told a small crowd of reporters that nineteen new temporary waste drop-off locations—in addition to the seven currently open—will be announced tomorrow afternoon, with some going into effect by that evening and the others open for Friday morning. The locations, explained Geoff Rathbone, the manager of Solid Waste Management Services, were selected based on there being “access across the city,” as well as how much space was available at each and how much of a “buffer” there is around it. (We’re in the midst of tracking down a few of the locations now, as they’re being set up as we speak.) Rathbone also noted that there have been some fifty-nine tickets issued for illegal dumping so far; there is, Pennachetti explained, a “zero tolerance policy” in place, and fines range from $380 on the low end to, with a court summons, up to $10,000 for an individual and $50,000 for a group.