The city warned Tuesday it will prosecute “˜”˜illegal dumping,’’ even if residents are prevented from getting into city-designated waste disposal sites by strikers.
People who visited transfer stations were met with a barricade of picketers, prompting some residents to leave their bags just outside the facility as city bylaw officers took notes.
Mayor David Miller said he understands picketers are hindering access to the designated sites, but it’s not an excuse to make the city a “personal dumping ground.”
“Let me be perfectly clear, illegal dumping will not be tolerated,” he told a press conference.
Councillor Karen Stintz said the city should use “proper discretion,” on prosecuting dumping, and called the Mayor’s afternoon statements “surprising.”
“The tone of “˜won’t be tolerated’ does not recognize the level of frustration in the city. He took the opportunity to lecture residents rather than send a strong message to unions that we need to end this impasse,” she said. “I think issuing tickets to residents who are forced to leave trash outside a designated transfer station is inappropriate.”
To that end, city bylaw officers today rummaged through heaps of curbside bags, cutting them open to determine who should be fined the $380 for illegal dumping.
At the Commissioner’s Road site, a bylaw officer, who did not want to be identified, said the bags were illegally dumped and merit a fine. A striker who watched her work disagreed.
“It’s a money-grab, a slap in the face to residents, and part of a flawed and greedy contingency plan,” said Bill Steele, picket captain at the Commissioner’s facility and union steward for the site.
Mr. Steele said one particular incident Tuesday morning stood out among others: a pair of residents who spoke little English misunderstood the rules regarding a maximum of three bags per drop-off.
“They had five bags instead of three, so they put two of the bags in the car and left the other three just outside on the ground while they sat and waited their turn,” he said. “The officer came up and started taking pictures of their licence plate. It was really intimidating for them, that’s harassment.”
The bylaw officer said she believed the residents were going to dump the bags, and she was just doing her job.
Meanwhile, a bylaw officer at the Bermondsey Road site said he will warn residents that dumping their trash — no matter how close to the site — is illegal, before he would issue a fine.
The Post was sent videos and photos of one of the trash transfer sites. In it you can see the tense situation between pickets, bylaw officers and Torontonians wanting to drop off their trash.
“We’re not here to make anyone’s life miserable,” Steve Miller said at Bermondsey, where picketers are now allowing one resident to dump trash every 15 minutes. “But people just can’t start throwing trash everywhere.”
A mound of garbage, including tattered sofas, tires, and wet waste, piled up just outside the Bermondsey facility overnight because residents were denied access.
By morning, a dozen cars at a time were lined up outside the facility, meaning it would be a few hours before the last car made it through, according to the designated union timer.
One resident parked in that line, who would only identify himself as Lou, said he was angry to hear the city is fining people for doing their best.
“This is supposed to be open 24 hours for us to come and drop off our trash like the city asked us to,” he said. “If we can’t, that’s not our fault.”
An elderly resident feared not being physically able to walk the trash to the drop-off zone. Minutes later, a woman pulled up to the site and refused to wait the 20 minutes for her turn.
“I have kids in the car,” she yelled, as she grabbed a bag from her trunk. “Why do I have to wait 10 minutes? You can’t block me.”
Picketers started to line up to prevent her from tossing her trash legally, but she was soon allowed all the way up to the drop-off zone, avoiding a potential fine from the onlooking bylaw officer.
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