Montreal city crews are on the move, trying to collect all the household waste that has riddled many street curbs and sidewalks after moving day.
Thirty workers a day have been assigned to the Ville-Marie borough (downtown Montreal) to remove the waste — a job that is expected to last two weeks.
“It’s quite a challenge after the first of July,” Philippe Sabourin, a Montreal city spokesperson told Global News.
The post-moving day mess is a perennial problem in the city as residents move and dispose of unwanted goods outside.
Crews are trying to collect everything from bubble gun wrappers to large household appliances.
“We are so busy because when the people move they leave so many things on the street,” Gérald Coriolan, a city worker told Global News.
Bulkier items will sit out for days until it’s collected by specialized teams unless residents bring the material themselves to local eco-centres.
Almost all household waste put out on the curb is going directly to the landfill. Officials say there isn’t enough time to sort the material and recycle.
“We will bring it to the dump because we don’t have enough resources, enough time to sort the items,” Sabourin said.
People who live and work in the area say the piled-up mess is very ugly.
“Even in the park, there’s like plastic everywhere, it’s horrible,” Emily Bell, a Montreal resident, told Global News.
50,000 tonnes of material is expected to be picked up by workers and despite the mess, Sabourin says the job is getting done and the city will soon look clean again.
“We’re in control of the situation (in) downtown Montreal,” he said.