Garbage Bins

If you live in the city of Toronto, you are aware of the many garbage bins which can be found sitting on the sidewalks of the city during the week. These bins are large and cumbersome and not particularly attractive. To overcome the last issue, there are companies that are designing bins to house the bins when they are not sitting at the side of the street and to prevent our furry friends from visiting their local buffet. Yes, raccoons have figured out how to open the lids of the bins and help themselves to the delicacies that they are searching for.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raccoon( Oh yes, I feed birds and have been putting the unroasted peanuts on the shelf of the barbecue. Two days ago without thinking I put out peanuts after the evening dishes forgetting that it would soon be dark. The next morning when I looked out to see if the peanuts needed to be replenished, I discovered that the self had been knocked off. My furry friends had decided that they wanted the appetizer before they got to serious eating in the composter. )

My concern about these bins is "why are they are not being emptied when they are supposed to be". Despite our best efforts, our garbage bin was not emptied for the second time last week. There could be no suggestion that it was not out early enough- the bin was out by 6 a.m. It seems the crews are selective about emptying the bins. Next time, I am taking pictures of the bins so that it is clear that there is no inherent logic to the process.

The one good thing that I learned last week was that my councillor's office is very responsive. I sent an e-mail to the city and copied my councillor on it. The councillor's staff contacted the appropriate person asap and also called me to let me know what had been done. I had not been able to get through on the city phone line and did not receive a response from the city until the next day.

Garbage collection should not be a challenge and it wasn't until the arrival of the bins. Just getting the bins to the curb can be tricky with cars in the way and I can hardly wait for the snow to see how well the wheels manoeuvre over the snow. Will keep you posted.