Landlord calling for weekly garbage pickup to battle rats
Waterloo Region points to proper green bin use as deterrent for area’s rodent populations
WATERLOO — There was no mistaking the long tail and oily fur.
Mark Stapleton was entertaining his brother and sisterin-law in his Waterloo home’s backyard when he noticed something scuttle by his feet.
“I turned around and noticed this big giant rat running by us,” said Stapleton, who serves as a landlord for various properties across the city — one of which also saw a rat problem this year.
“For more than 20 years I’ve been here, and I haven’t had a problem. This is just ridiculous.”
He says the rodent sightings only started after Waterloo Region moved to a biweekly garbage collection model in 2017. Food items which could potentially attract pests are still collected weekly if residents use their green bins.
But in a city that features tens of thousands of students, landlords are pointing to a garbage collection system that doesn’t suit young renters as a possible reason for the alleged increase in rodent activity.
“I’ve never seen a rat here in my entire life. I went to university here, I’ve been here since 1997,” said Stapleton. “I own multiple properties and have never had a rat problem until they started doing the two-week garbage.”
But rodent populations have a long history in the region.
In 2016, public health inspectors were forced to temporarily shut down three restaurants — Pioneer Bar-B-Q in Kitchener, Madchilli in Waterloo and El Rinconcito Mexicano in Cambridge — after they failed to provide adequate protection against the entrance of rodents.
Orkin Canada releases its list of Ontario’s top 25 “rattiest” cities each year, with both Kitchener (19) and Cambridge (16) cracking the list in 2019. The list, which ranks cities by the number of rodent calls in a year, did not include Waterloo.
Mike Dunn, Cambridge branch manager of Orkin
Canada, told the Waterloo Region Record in late May that rats in the region would be looking for new food sources in residential neighbourhoods with the pandemic shutting down restaurants and bars.
However, he also noted that rodent calls have been rising over the last few years in the region, unrelated to the pandemic.
Mike Milovick is a student landlord in Waterloo and said the current “one size fits all” garbage collection plan for the region fails to address the tens of thousands of students who live in Waterloo.
He said most students tend to prepare their own meals as opposed to cooking for the entire household. In a five-bedroom unit, he said they can produce up to five times the amount of garbage as a single-family dwelling.
For many of the students, it also represents the first time they are living away from home. In some cases, he said, just getting the students to take the garbage out can be a weekly headache.
With rodents on the prowl for new food sources, he said the problem could continue to get worse in areas heavily populated with students.
Both Stapleton and Milovick live in the area and can stay on top of their properties. But for landlords based in Toronto or other remote locations, staying on top of things can be challenging.
“Green boxes and students just simply do not work,” said Stapleton. “It works for people who have the time, but for students, it’s just not happening.”
That’s why Milovick is proposing a pilot project to see if there is any correlation between garbage collection and rat populations.
“Let’s put together a pilot project in a defined student area — or at least for rental licensed properties — where garbage collection takes place weekly,” he said. “And we will see if it has an impact on the rat infestations.”
Susan White, manager of waste, collection and diversion for the region, said “we are not planning any changes” to the waste collection service.
“What attracts pests is food, and the Region of Waterloo ensures food waste is collected every week through the green bin program,” she said. “With food waste being collected weekly, the remainder left in the garbage container should not attract pests.”
For student housing, she said landlords can have their tenants place out as many green bins as required to ensure cleanliness.
“If it is identified that waste is not being stored correctly at particular locations, we can send staff to those locations with educational materials and/or work with our bylaw department to ensure the appropriate process is followed.”
Robert Williams is a Waterloo Region-based reporter for the Record. Reach him via email: robertwilliams@torstar.ca