Montreal is still in the “middle ages” when it comes to waste management, the director-general of Montreal Centre-Ville told Qub Radio on Thursday.
“The city center is visited by hundreds of thousands of people every day, and folks, it’s getting dirty. Where we’re lagging is how we keep our downtown area clean […] The city alone will never be able to ensure cleanliness,” said Glenn Castanheira at the microphone of Philippe-Vincent Foisy.
Overflowing garbage cans in the city center, garbage on the ground, dog poop on the sidewalks: the big metropolis would only benefit if it were inspired by a European model for waste collection.
In his opinion, setting up sorting centers where citizens hand in their rubbish or even installing semi-buried containers that allow them to collect more rubbish could already be two possible solutions without “reinventing the wheel”.
“This idea of still having garbage bags on the sidewalks dates back to the Middle Ages. There is no longer a big modern city where we leave our garbage cans on the sidewalk, sometimes for hours in the blazing sun,” stressed Mr. Castanheira.
Given the labor shortage, he believes it is essential to raise awareness so that everyone – citizens and merchants – can do their part to keep the city clean.
“A good dose of speeding tickets is a good start,” he said.