THE FIXER Nuisance container now a has-bin
A disposal box filled with debris from a home renovation was illegally left for months on an Etobicoke street but quickly disappeared after a city inspector got wind of it. The disposal box was parked in front of number 42 on 32nd St., which runs north of Lake Shore Blvd. W., between Kipling and Islington Aves. The house underwent renovations for much of the summer and now has a For Sale sign in front of it.
At a point, the renovations ended, but the filled box was left behind. Since then, it looks as though people have been topping up the box with bags of household garbage, which was spilling over the sides on Monday. Beside a tree next to the box, a rusty propane tank for a barbecue was dumped. One of the neighbours told us box was there before he went on vacation in August.
Barry Kemp, who emailed us about the problem, said he called Toronto’s works department to report it a few weeks ago. Works told him to call municipal licensing and standards, who he says told him to go back to works. When he complained to the licensing department that he was getting the runaround, Kemp said they told him they’d take care of it. But as of Monday, the box was still there.
STATUS: We talked to Alan Smithies, who’s in charge of right-of-way management in the west district. Smithies said a permit was required for the box to be left on the road, adding that he’d send an inspector to check it out. He called back yesterday to say that bylaw inspector Maxwell Jeffers confirmed that no permit was ever issued, then got in touch with the owner and told him to move it right away or else. By yesterday afternoon, the box was gone.
WHO GOT IT FIXED: Maxwell Jeffers, transportation serthe vices; mjeffers@toronto.ca What’s broken in your neighbourhood? To email us, go to thestar.com, click on the GTA tab, then click on The Fixer. Or call us at 416869-4823.