Westover: City needs to crack down on open trash containers

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The other morning I woke up to an alarming noise, and it wasn’t the usual iPhone irritant.

Was there someone on my roof at five in the morning brandishing a nail gun? The hollow blows shook the house to its foundations.

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Sherlock Holmes, I’m not, but it took me all of five seconds to identify the real culprit: a breakfast-eating crow, bright-eyed and with the wingspan of a kindergartener, knocking over the remains of its own distant relative.

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I like chicken wings as much as anyone. But this nature documentary-style dog eat dog exhibit was enough to cure me of that indulgence. I also gave up French bread, after picking up countless rotten baguettes, which pesky corvids keep dropping in my garden.

These passerines are multiplying in our little corner of Barrhaven, thanks in large part to the open trash bins that line many condo parking lots, including those that abut our backyard.

Instead of practical closed containers, raised concrete platforms fenced on three sides are used as a staging area for garbage collection. In theory, residents place their trash in covered containers the night before collection day.

In practice, it just doesn’t work.

Tenants have nowhere to store their trash except inside their units. Even if they wanted to keep it on their balconies, sensible statutes prevent it. Additionally, those without ground-level access should not be asked to keep even empty, unwieldy containers in their only usable outdoor space.

The end result is people throwing bags of trash directly onto the platform, which is completely open to the elements, at all hours of the day and night. I did a Google Earth search for this particular stretch of alley and the offending photographs appear to have been taken at a landfill, not in a residential neighborhood in the nation’s capital. A nice view from my guest room. In summer it is also an olfactory experience.

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After many letters and phone calls, the city finally agreed that this was unacceptable.

The condominium corporation responded by having a cleaning crew come in regularly to remove debris accumulated between trash days. But that temporary solution only goes so far.

We pushed for greater accountability, meaning proper disposal units, with various departments claiming to be responsible, from property standards to health and safety. Everything was in vain.

The bylaw officers we have spoken to have always been friendly and responsive. They stated that our challenge is not isolated and that other neighborhoods suffer similar frustrations.

But its powers are limited, and the condo corporation doesn’t seem to be deterred by cleanup notices or occasional fines. They are still much cheaper than taking the high road and building proper storage units, as many other similar complexes have done.

If a corporation does not voluntarily bind itself to responsible environmental, health and safety standards, then surely we have a collective obligation to do so for it.

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The City Council has tools to correct bad behavior. A Municipal Order could be the solution and, if not, they have the power to subcontract the work and bill the offender.

We do not accept outdoor pickup sites at retail centers or shopping centers. However, are we willing to turn a blind eye to where people actually live?

Just a couple of days ago, I noticed a flurry of winged activity around that same condo building. A family of crows is building a nest of king-sized bed proportions, just a short distance from the all-day buffet below.

The city’s 311 line is a wonderful resource, but it’s also frustratingly inflexible at times. Hitting one for trash doesn’t cover the entirety of my concerns. Time and resources could be much better spent on other issues rather than responding to an ongoing problem that will only be resolved by force of will of elected officials.

In the meantime, I’ll be happy to treat the City Council to a delicious lunch of chicken wings and baguettes.

Susanne Westover is a writer from Ottawa.

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