Neighbours annoyed by festering trash pile
Aug 23, 2008 - 04:30 AM
By Jillian Follert
OSHAWA -- The view from Jacques Bernier’s house isn’t pretty these days.
When the Emma Street resident looks outside, he is greeted by a mountain of garbage bags, old mattresses, dirty clothes, scrap wood and other trash, courtesy of neighbours who chucked their junk, then moved away without calling the City for a special garabage collection.
“It’s an eyesore, it smells and there are flies everywhere,” Mr. Bernier said, noting that neighbours have also reported a dead cat among the rubbish. “The worst part is, other neighbours are looking at it like a dump now and adding more stuff to the pile. It’s starting to spread onto my property.”
Annoyed neighbours say the unsightly mound at the corner of Emma and Celina streets materialized the first week of August. Mr. Bernier said he and others began calling City Hall around that time, but got no response.
As of Thursday morning, it was still there -- and growing.
“What I don’t understand is why bylaws like parking are enforced on the spot, but the City doesn’t do anything about this,” Mr. Bernier said. “We’ve watched garbage collection trucks going by week after week. You would think they would at least notify the City about it.”
Mike Molinari, the City’s public works director, said his department became aware of the situation last week and left a notice for the property owner Aug. 15.
Complaints from the neighbourhood didn’t start rolling in until Aug. 17, he said, and he isn’t sure why residents who said they called earlier didn’t get through to the right officials.
In situations like this, the first step is to determine whether a special garbage collection has been ordered, he said.
The City allows residents to order special collections for a $25 fee. A pilot project now underway allows an unlimited number of items to be put at the curb.
If no pickup is pending, Mr. Molinari said public works officials try to contact the property owner to ask that they either schedule a pickup or remove the trash.
“We don’t use the biggest stick first,” he said. “We try to explain to people what they need to do and give them a chance to fix it,” he said.
If that doesn’t work, the matter is referred to bylaw officials, who issue a cleanup order. If the trash isn’t gone within a few days, the City cleans it up and bills the property owner.
The Celina Street situation is in the hands of bylaw officials now and should be resolved within a matter of days, Mr. Molinari said.
To prevent situations like this from happening, he reminds residents that a special collection is required for any large pickups.
To book a special collection or report garbage that has been improperly disposed of, call Service Oshawa at 905-436-3311.
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