Day after July 1 | Montreal will need a week to clean the sidewalks

Who says day after 1^er July, says sidewalks crowded with furniture and other trash. This year, despite an “improvement”, the City of Montreal estimates that it will need a week to recover the tens of thousands of tons of bulky items left in the middle of the street.

“We’re going to have a lot of employees and staff hitting the streets in the next few days, but it’s a lot, what we have to do, in a short period of time. We should be able to recover all this waste within a week. We are already in action, ”says the administrative spokesperson for the City of Montreal, Philippe Sabourin.

The boroughs will each proceed in order of priority, first freeing up the sectors where the population density is high and where storage space is often much less available, specifies Mr. Sabourin. “We don’t want our sidewalks to turn into dumps, we’re going to free them as quickly as possible, but we’re asking everyone at the same time to make an effort. »

Each year, his group has to pick up up to 50,000 tonnes of garbage after moving day, roughly equivalent to the weight of 20,000 Société de transport de Montréal (STM) buses.

For Mr. Sabourin, this demonstrates the importance of changing one’s behavior and habits. “We want to become a zero waste city by 2030. Well, it’s starting now. As soon as possible, we invite everyone to reduce their consumption, to give back what can be given back, then to value what can be valued. It is essential,” he said.

Up to $1000 fine

In particular, the City invites residents to call on private recycling companies, or to go to the ecocentre for free to drop off their furniture, which can have a very harmful impact on the environment if left behind. on the street.

He also reminds that fines ranging from $200 to $1,000 can regularly be given by City inspectors, since leaving furniture or other waste at the edge of the sidewalk outside of collection periods is illegal.

“Nobody has a free pass during the move. We must respect the collection hours and we will not hesitate to take action. That said, the biggest fine is the one we inflict on ourselves collectively, because our streets are not clean and our materials go to landfill rather than being recycled,” continues Philippe Sabourin.

Even if there is still a lot to do, it nevertheless seems that the situation is improving from year to year. “People are more and more aware of the environmental cause, in short the message seems to be heard more. But we also know that there have been fewer moves this year. Overall, we still expect to further reduce the amount of waste at the curb in the coming years,” concludes the spokesperson.

The City of Montreal also reminded Sunday that brown bins and recycling bins “must not be moved”, but “left for the next tenant”. If you don’t have access to a bin in your new apartment, you can contact 311 to get one quickly.

680 households without a lease

On the eve of 1^er July, there were 680 households without a lease and accompanied by the services of their municipality in Quebec, indicated on Saturday to The Press Véronique Laflamme, spokesperson for the Popular Action Front in Urban Redevelopment (FRAPRU). This organization collects data on homeless tenants every year. There were also 178 households accommodated by municipal emergency services on 1^er July, according to the Société d’habitation du Québec (SHQ).

“From year to year, we feel the distress which increases, underlined the mayor Valérie Plante, in a press briefing on Saturday. And when I tell you that we feel it, it’s real. People come to see us, say they don’t know how they’re going to find rent, that they’re desperate or worried about renovitions. »

With William Theriault, The Press