Somebody better start picking up my garbage soon or I’m gonna flush it down the damn toilet!
Tips for dealing with your trash during the strike
My garbage disappeared! Not sure how, maybe the landlord took it to the dump for us, rats might have devoured both bags in their entirety, or the neighbour is sifting through it in her basement, who knows?
When I lived in the country, there was a proposal to build a garbage incinerator near town. People had lawn signs saying that we in Toronto should sit in our own trash. “Fill the Skydome with Toronto’s Trash!”. Can’t afford tickets anyways. Ship it out on subway trains with commuters. Kick it into the lake. Burn it in piles. There are plenty of good ideas out there.
my computer!
Sorry if you came here thinking this was a legitimate source of information and that the strike was actually over. Its the old bait and switch I’m afraid.
Went to Christie Pits park today, it’s a temporary dump 7am to 7pm, no pool, no staff- just a cop, a sign, and a pile of garbage. It looked like a minor crime scene. Angry neighbours posted signs on their lawns decrying the dumping going on next door. People in cars were parked up and down the street, some of them keeping their heads low as they guiltily deposited their waste. Get used to it, this is the new garbage collection model for the city of Toronto.
A fun family trip to the park!
Take your trash to the park, have it shipped out of town by a private waste collection company. Its further downloading of the cost of waste onto the public, like recycling. . . .Sorry guys, uh, we can’t afford to pick up your trash anymore. We’ll still get rid of it, but you gotta bring it to us first. . . .We don’t get milk delivered door to door anymore. We are forced to congregate at centralized locations where we do our own getting of milk. Pretty soon there will be only your work, your home, and one other gigantic place where you do everything else. Drop off your trash, buy groceries, bathe, mail, bank and buy pants.
Alright so the real commentary: who do we blame? City offering too little, union asking for too much? Sounds like the union is angry over loosing their bankable sick days- not really ‘asking’ for this I guess if they already have it. More effects of this fake recession, regular people are expected to make another compromise to allow transition through these difficult times. We need to take away your sick days because of the recession, don’t worry, you’ll get them back when things recover. Promise.
Many people are pissed at the union; it wasn’t long ago since the last strike and it always happens in the early summer. Personally, I’d rather they do it at this time of year to put the pressure on and get it over with. A winter strike could go on for months. And hey, you think they have such a great deal, you go work as a garbage man.
People love to get preachy about work they wouldn’t touch.
What kind of idiot carries a garbage bag like this? Gross.
Tags: angry, city of Toronto, contract, contract talks, dump, dumping, garbage, garbage bins, garbage collection, garbage containers, garbage disposal, garbage disposal removal, garbage dump, garbage in the park, garbage removal, garbage strike, garbage strike in Toronto, garbage trucks, garbage waste disposal, hazardous waste management, negotiate, negotiation, negotiations, park, park dumping, parks, private waste collection, public, public sector, public sector union, public works, recycle garbage bins, recycle waste disposal, recycling, recycling garbag bins, recycling trash bins, strike, striking union, temp dump, temporary dump, toronto, Toronto garbage strike, trash bins, trash collection, union, union action, union strike, waste, waste bins, waste collection, waste management, yard waste removal
June 29, 2009 at 9:26 am |
I guess these days it’s the Black Rogers Centre.
July 26, 2009 at 11:57 am |
El Remi,
Yup, that garbage strike is awful and i hope it gets resolved soon. Unfortunately the ‘pig-heads’ that are supposed to work out a deal seem to have no real desire to do so …. just force what happened before, mandatory arbitration legislated by the province.
This one whacko anti-poverty group did one smart thing here in vancouver when we had our garbage strike a couple years back….. they dumped trash at the steps of the mayor’s condo! Some called members of this group ‘terrorists’ due to some of their aggressive tactics….. maybe a little ‘terror’ directed at the right people is just what’s needed to stop this strike.
Having to wade through rat-infested garbage….. I’d do anything to avoid that!
July 26, 2009 at 9:21 pm
The Richard,
Its nuts. I mean at least put on a show right? Pretend that you’re trying to resolve it. Instead the city’s pretending that these workers are not needed- i smell otherwise. but if i lived in a fancy condo, or in rosedale. . . .
I’ll call up gloydo get the militia back together again.
I’ve been working on a “little bit of terror” post. Too many people have got their heads in the sand- especially politicians.
Its not so bad, you can barely see the rats for all the flies.
June 30, 2009 at 4:04 pm |
Read Georges Bataille. Your prediction can be found in his work. Basically there is the homogeneous, (work, exchange, “productive activity”) which society recognizes, and then there is shit. That’s the ideal society for many at the top.
Okay that’s not doing him justice. But you gotta think, this isn’t the first garbage strike in Toronto – not even the first since I’ve been here. How long is it going to take people to realize the amount of waste they create? How many “Pits” are we going to have to fill with trash?
We should just start dumping our garbage in Rosedale. See how long the strike lasts then.
June 30, 2009 at 4:14 pm |
Close the Toronto Island Airport, see how long it takes to extend the subway to Pearson. Have a blackout in Rosedale, see how long it takes Toronto Hydro to repair the problem.
So long as there is a way for the people at the top to skip the line and avoid nastiness they haven’t got a reason to bother with the negative things which affect the rest of us.
You love the philosophers who don’t consider themselves philosophers.
July 1, 2009 at 2:22 am |
I don’t like your poll. It should include an “all of the above” option. Damn city, damn union and God damnit! Shit happens!
I can’t believe they chose a beautiful park (if you ignore the crack dealers) like Christie Pitts to destroy with refuse! Why the hell would they give people this option?!?! If this option wasn’t provided the garbage would end up somewhere that would get the corporations up in arms, such as Blob-laws parking lot! Once again the city insists on destroying it’s green space instead of disrupting the precious “flow” of industry.
Fucking idiots!!! I don’t live there and am not affected in anyway (other than planet destruction) and I’m still pissed off!!!!
July 1, 2009 at 12:58 pm |
Luckily you can submit to a Remi poll as many times as you like, so give them all a vote. . . . how do you think i make it look like people actually participated in the poll?
I think its spelled: BlawBlaws. . .They’ve got my trash!
The city shut down the pool and ice rink in the pits already- maybe they were anticipating the need for dump space?
July 1, 2009 at 1:00 pm |
That precious “flow” industry is the city. The government is just the whipping boy.
July 1, 2009 at 5:13 pm |
Just a thought … If Toronto residents are really fed up being held hostage under mounds of garbage, why not simply dump your garbage off in front of those picket lines of striking civil servants? Similarly, why not dump your garbage off at municipal offices, police stations, the mayor’s residence, the residence’s of City councilors, etc.? Wouldn’t that make cleanup easier once the strike is over? (Always think ahead!).
If anything, once opposing sides in this dispute are directly exposed to the rotting refuse they so flagrantly inflict on local citizenry, the smell alone might help remind them that their primary commitment is to the taxpayer!
Personally, and as a rural resident, I have no great love for the hopelessly gridlocked, multi-confused ‘Big Smoke’ or whatever misery its residents so willfully endure. It could be argued that the smell of rotting garbage is a noticeable improvement. It’s all part of the “Manhattanization” experiment you sewer rats were all so fond of.
July 2, 2009 at 3:17 am |
I hear ya Russ!
It’s just so much easier to whine about problems then to physically do anything about them.
If the councilors and union officials would only send an address to their residences and a paid cab, the sniveling residents of the Big Smoke would happily send their garbage on to the greater good. Unless of course there is something good on TV. Then of course they’ll blame there landlords for not doing it for them.
Signed,
Fellow Rural Living City Hater
July 2, 2009 at 1:03 pm |
Per capita, city people are less environmentally destructive, easier to provide for, and less of a drain on healthcare.
If we were all country sows we would live in a much less efficient world.
Most landlords don’t do anything. Its like the non-job job. The fat old lord and lady watching their peasants til the field.
Gotta agree with Russ here. Dump your shit where people will see it. Put the pressure on. Although i’m sure city officials are getting private pickups.
July 2, 2009 at 1:04 pm |
I’ve only been a sewer rat about %40 of my life.
July 5, 2009 at 6:41 pm |
As many residents of Toronto face the challenges that the current garbage strike has left them, one man has taken a new approach to a solution. Roofer Dave of Toronto has suspended his regular business tasks, and now offers residents a way to get rid of their trash in a safe and environmentally friendly way. Trash is collected for merely five dollars per twenty pound bag and taken to licenced disposal facilities for disposal (NOT THE CITY TEMPORARY DUMP SITES) Dave’s plan is to ease the pain residents are feeling not add to it. According to Roofer Dave, “We are currently working on recycling efforts to divert as much as we can from land fills. We will have more on this as facilities get back to us.” Finding Roofer Dave on his route is easy, simply follow @fivebucksabag on Twitter to see where and when he may be in your neighbourhood or contact him through his web site at http://www.fivebucksabag.com.
July 5, 2009 at 8:20 pm |
Roofer Dave is a smart guy, although i doubt he’s doing this to ease resident’s pain. Like anybody else who’s got a truck, he’s going to make a lot of money during this thing if he wants to. Could charge $10 a bag and he’d still have customers.
I wonder if people will try and bill the city for the expense of calling private collections companies?
So far my solution is to fill the front yard, even the temp dump at Christie is already closed.
July 10, 2009 at 11:06 pm |
[...] last one’s my favourite. Listen. We should not be paying for waste removal, it should not be the public’s burden. Corporations keep selling us crap that’s over packaged and designed to break. Try and buy a [...]
July 31, 2009 at 7:38 am |
[...] on, but my computer is in the living room and its hard not to be thinking about this. Also see Toronto Garbage Strike Ends! and Tips For Dealing With Your [...]
August 24, 2009 at 2:53 pm |
What’s with the plastic wrap around the garbage cans? As an American visiting your city, I assumed it was to stop people from cramming more garbage into the overflowing can. My brother-in-law thought it was some kind of artistic statement from the garbage collectors’ union.
August 24, 2009 at 6:22 pm |
Thanks Jason. Ouch! Welcome to our city, bad timing for a visit i guess? Although it depends where you live, many people in the city were unaffected.
The can wrapping was done by the city. They all had signs with the city’s logo at first, but many of these signs were no longer visible thanks to vandals.