Disgruntled Star Editor Takes Constructive Revenge
Drop Fees, End Poverty! And Also Do All These Other Things!
Kensington Market's Business, Soon to be Improved
Stacks of Tracks (in the Stacks)
Live Green Toronto's Bright Idea
Since our trash hasn't been magically disappearing as usual for twelve days, we've been creating cute little temporary biohazard sites instead where humans normally play. What happens, though, is that there is really only a finite amount of space to dump our junk, so the City is closing two and opening two more: the York Mills arena site is being shut down today, with the Christie Pits drop-off to follow on Sunday evening at 7 p.m. The new sites to sully will be at Centennial Arena in Scarborough and Wilkett Creek Park by Eglinton and Leslie. And if you're downwind of those allegedly safe pesticide chemicals being sprayed over the mountains of garbage, perhaps make sure you've got some sick days banked—just in case.
add to stumble upon
add to reddit
tweet this
post to facebookTIP US OFF
Most Popular
Disgruntled Star Editor Takes Constructive Revenge (65)
Over Time, How Fairly Have TTC Fares Fared? (36)
Enza Anderson Eyes City Council Seat (30)
Drop Fees, End Poverty! And Also Do All These Other Things! (21)
Sign of the Times (17)
Boo, Yeah! (16)
Kensington Market's Business, Soon to be Improved (16)- Newsstand: November 3, 2009 (15)
Reel Toronto: The Tuxedo (15)
Hog-O-Vision (15)
I propose we take all this garbage and make more islands.
or "Centennial 2: Filler Instinct"
No Country For NIMBYs?
This is one of those things that's always easy to write/complain about. Let me qualify - I don't live near any of the dump sites, and I'm on side with the city on this issue.
However:
1) The garbage HAS to go somewhere. What are the alternatives (seriously. no sarcasm intended here)? Mall parking lots? Public roadways? They're not equipped to handle runoff either. Further, the reason some of those sites are becoming more bio-toxic is because the strikers are preventing the city from keeping them as safe as possible, by blocking their efforts to spray.
2) The city's not the one dumping the garbage, city residents are; and they're frustrated too. What with being harassed by striking workers AND having to deal with temporary dump sites in their own backyards.
So, yes resident are being forced to create "cute little temporary biohazard sites" but... what else would you suggest a resident do with 12+ days worth of refuse (keeping in mind not everyone can drive to a transfer station)? There's only so much you can keep at home, and for so long.
This is going to betray my ignorance here, but how much control can the picketers exercise over temporary dump sites?
My partner and I moved into a new place recently and had a bunch of trash to dump, so we dropped by a 24-hour transfer station where picketers blocked us and said we couldn't dump because we had too many bags (they suspected we were Craigslist scabs or whatever). So then we drove to one of the temporary dumping grounds where the evidently power-tripping picketer dude made a big show of poking around in our rented van, inspecting our garbage, and asking accusing questions about why we had so much waste before letting us in (after initially attempting to turn us away). Is that, like, normal? Advice plz.
To any concerned:
Here's the order served to CUPE today to allow access to the city to maintain the Christie Pits dump. A resident took a picture of it, so some parts weren't clear.
Date: July 3, 2009
ORDER
Made pursuant to Section 13 of the
Health Protection and Promotion Act, R.S.O. 1990, Chapter H.7
To: City of Toronto
100 Queen Street West
Toronto, Ontario
M5H 2N2
Attention: The City Clerk
I, Reg Ayre, a Public Health Inspector for the City of Toronto Health
Unit order you to take the following action:
1) Commence forthwith the removal and appropriate disposal of all
standing water accumulating on the outdoor ice rink pad at the
elevated northwest section of Christie Pits, located at 750 Bloor
Street West.
2) Maintain this temporary garbage storage site free of fly and
rodent
infestation at all times by ensuring the daily assessment of the
site by a licensed pest control contractor and treatment as
indicated by this assessment.
THE REASONS FOR THIS ORDER ARE THAT:
1) I inspected the Christie Pits temporary garbage site on Friday
July 3, 2009 at approximately 13H45 and observed that the site was
littered in places with exposed putrescible garbage and the
hardened
surface contained standing water.
2) Evidence of an active fly infestation was detected in that fly
larvae
and adult flies were observed in the exposed putrescible garbage.
3) The standing water on the site is impeding the effective and safe
application of fly control measures.
4) Attempts to undertake pest control measures and to remove the
standing water have been prevented by ongoing community and labour
picketing activities.
I am of the opinion on reasonable and probable grounds that:
1) A health hazard exists in the health unit served by me.
2) The requirement specified in the order are necessary in order to
decrease the effect of or eliminate the health hazard.
NOTICE
TAKE NOTICE THAT you are entitled to a hearing by the Health Services
Appeal and Review Board if you deliver to me [...] notice in writing,
requesting a hearing within [some text obscured by thumb holding
paper
on my photo] (15) days after service of this Order.
[obscured] FURTHER TAKE NOTICE THAT although a hearing may be
requested,
this Order takes effect [obsc.] it is served to you.
----------------------------
CUPE responded by stating their position: "Nothing gets in, nothing
comes out." The city manager presented his Order to the police. But ...
... the police officer clarified that according to the Labour Act the
workers have a right to strike and the police may not interfere in
their job action. The Order was passed by a City Department. Unless
an injunction were passed by a court of law, i.e. by an entity that
is neutral in the labour conflict, the police would not order the
workers to cede passage to the city and their contractor. They were
present merely to keep the peace.
The City manager and the pesticide contractor left.
"putrescible" — that word is disgusting.
But at least CUPE is on record acknowledging they have created a health hazard, and their inaction means they don't care who gets sick or dies from it.
CUPE is more than happy to force citizens to dispose of their garbage in dumps, but won't let the city treat it, and certainly won't let the city move it to safer/less public places when the temporary dump sites are closed.
They want our parks stinking as yet another tactic -- they realize that the best way for them to get close to what they want is to keep things stalemated long enough for a legislated end and arbitration.
And hey, they know Miller doesn't yet have it in him to fight back on behalf of citizens.
Imagine if residents discovered ways to dispose less and vermicomposting more. Oh, we can't have that!
Here's an idea: vermicomposters unite by mobilizing at the disposal sites with starter kits to show people how they can make use of their organic wastes if fun and profitable ways.
And in this edition of attention-deficit disorder circus, residential garbage in Toronto should not stink, provided that all the organics aren't put in there and non-recyclable food containers are rinsed before disposal. Then again, before the green bin, this volume of disposed waste would probably have reeked worse in 2002.
Either way, this is a good time for residents to change old habits that die hard with new ones that make a little more sense. Yeah, I know: good luck with that and all.
I'm amazed that they can find as much stuff to throw away as they evidently do. Are they not storing up their recyclables? Do the ones without composters also lack freezer space?
Sorry, not all of us live in giant houses/condos with huge fridges. In my kitchen that's the size of a closet, no joke btw, my fridge blocks off 3 cupboards. Oh, and a drawer. Oh, and it's a small 'apartment' sized fridge.
So aside from my weekly lunches, and the three frozen juice containers, my freezer's already full.
So, my 'dining room' is covered with about 7 medium sized boxes of cans. (I like soda.) Thankfully, I'm a hermit and so is my partner so we're the only ones having to really deal with the smell in our apartment. Though, the smell outside probably covers it up.