There was lots of great feedback to my last post! Readers were (as you’d expect) pretty annoyed that I got a ticket, and offered many valuable ideas and solutions to the issue.
I’ve been considering my options the last few days and have decided to pay the ticket. I have a lot of work to do already, and don’t want to add a court challenge (big or small) to my to-do pile. I also feel that it’s likely in my best interest to keep my trash picking activities as low-key as possible for the time being. Increased attention could have some negative consequences, including an increased focus by local security to track me down.
I like the idea of bringing this to the media, but again I’ve got lots of work to do and would prefer to avoid the limelight. Perhaps I’ll go about making a bigger fuss if / when my trash picking becomes a part-time thing again. For now, I want to continue to focus on blogging, picking, and selling (holiday season is coming up!), while also putting work into side projects like making a zine for this years Expozine.
Many readers have graciously offered to contribute to the payment of this fine. Any help would of course be greatly appreciated! Those interested can use the donate widget on my “Support the Blog / Donate” page. The button is powered by PayPal but it also allows you to donate using a credit card. Otherwise, those who don’t like doing this kind of thing via the internet can also mail a cheque via snail-mail. Just email me at thingsifindinthegarbage@gmail.com and I can send you my mailing address.
As for my plans going forward, I intend on continuing my weekly TMR trash run. I’ll just be extra careful to avoid the security guys. There’s just so much good stuff and great history to be saved, and I’ve managed to avoid security much more often than not. I’m actually going to head there tonight… hopefully everything goes according to plan!
the police are the same the world over. when they have slow day anybody will do
i am rather shocked you got a ticket.
have not been reading the blog for a bit.
what justification did they use?
I truly believe the law in Canada states that once garbage is at the curb, it is public domain
Then, truly, you are wrong. :/ The by-law, chapter and verse are above.
Some places have by-laws against trash picking. Whether they’d survive some constitutional challenge is another thing altogether. I don’t think there’s any official justification, it’s just the way it is. I suspect though that the main reason is the fact that most wealthy people prefer to not have people rummaging through their trash.
I agree. Best to put the aggravation and stress behind you and get on with doing what you want to do. (From someone who’s seen a case or two) life’s too short for that kind of angst … especially in la belle province, where language might prove a hindrance. It’s great that some of your readers are happy to step up to the plate and help defray the expense.
Looking forward to seeing that zine. 🙂
I don’t see why language would be a problem in a Quebec court, especially a Montreal municipal court.
Are you sure you want to go back so soon? If the security guards were following you the first time, I fear they will be even more on their… guards! Good luck! I’llsend my donation soon.
I think it’ll be okay. The neighbourhood is fairly large, and I often won’t see them at all or only once. We’ll see though.
I made it through unscathed! Although I was extra paranoid all night, which makes the experience less fun.
What?!
But you’ve been saving them money on clean up!
If you scavenge more in NDG,Ville Emard,Verdun ,LaSalle,Dorval,Ville St.Laurent ,Rosemount,the Plateau,Ahuntsic ,St.Henri you are very unlikely to be ticketed.I am a pizza delivery driver—while driving in these neighborhoods,I see plenty of people scavenging —-often for bottles and cans or scrap metal and scrap wood,but also many for construction materials,books,vinyl records,magazines,kitchen utensils,food,clothes,furniture,etc.A lot of people scavenge part-time unlike you,but it’s not enough to repurpose all the good stuff that gets thrown out.I hope some residents in the Town of Mount Royal actually lobby on your behalf and take your side.But I know most boroughs are safe for scavenging—I have friends who scavenge quite a bit every now and then—they never get a ticket.
Most boroughs are fine yes. I’ve never had any issues anywhere except wealthier neighbourhoods with local security officers (particularly TMR and Hampstead, others like Cote St Luc, Westmount and Ville St Laurent have them but I’ve never had encounters). I do pick these other neighbourhoods, but it’s more hit and miss and wealthy TMR. Also, neighbourhoods like Lachine, Lasalle, Dorval, Ahuntsic, and Ville Emard are kind of far away for me, and some of them are really not worth a long trip for.
Some communities have passed ordinances against it around here, but thankfully none yet near me. I probably would just pay the fine and let it be myself also, most of the time the attention is not what you want, especially in this profession. Most people here are okay with the fact that you pick trash, and they are happy to see things reused, and recycled, but many aren’t okay with the fact that you might resell something they threw away. Even us trash pickers have bills to pay and need to buy gas every once in awhile though. ; ) You may want to change your hours and how you do your route in that area. I find myself getting into a routine too easily sometimes and had to frequently change it if I wanted to beat the other scrappers/pickers around here.
Yes, I’ve considered going to TMR in the morning to see if that helps. I know they have actual work to do then (they keep watch at local schools to make sure people slow down around the busses) so maybe that could work better. Although at this point I’d have to rework my sleep schedule to do this, and accept getting constantly stuck in traffic during the morning rush hour which is annoying to say the least.
It is easy to find many treasures in the recycling bins and trash bins on Duvernay street and Ste.Cunegonde street opposite Atwater market.These two streets are lined with luxury condos and rich houses.However,there are plenty of scavengers on these two streets saving most of the cans,bottles,scrap metals and paintings from the trash;I do not expect you to do these streets often because the recycling and trash pickup day on these two streets falls on Wednesday mornings—the same as The Town of Mount Royal.Still,other readers and those who want to scavenge should know that despite plenty of competition from scavengers,there are treasures waiting to be found there.
I know that spot, there’s definitely some potential there. I doubt I’ll make it down anytime soon, but maybe some readers will.