My email inbox fills up with some of the wildest stuff from readers.
Some responses to stories are thoughtful and kind, while others see grown-ass people jump through all sorts of hoops to justify bad behaviour.
Like Matt.
This Burnaby resident wrote in to respond to my blog on Wednesday about how people need to stop dumping their old mattresses all over my beautiful city.
I thought I was on solid ground by writing that people should stop what is an illegal act.
Apparently, I was wrong. According to Matt, it’s the city’s fault for their requirements of residents who want mattresses picked up.
“There is new impediment in the city pick-up system that wasn’t there years ago when I called the city to pick up my old mattress,” writes Matt. “Namely that the last time I called the city, they told me that they would only pick up my old mattress from behind my house if it was in a mattress bag. They recommended I call a bed store or go to a hardware store to buy one. I ended up finding a mattress bag for $8 from Canadian Tire as Home Depot wanted $12 … I then had to actually go to the store to buy the bag. In the age of Amazon delivering everything to your door, that’s a lot of work.
“This is way too much effort for most people. It’s a lot easier to just leave your old mattress in the bushes or at the side of the road … The whole idea of the city pick-up program is to make it just as easy, if not easier, to just call the city and have them deal with it rather than have it dumped. I think it’s a no-brainer for the city to provide free mattress bags if they are really required.”
Incredible, just incredible.
A grownup justifying illegal dumping because it’s just too damn hard for him to make any kind of effort. This is the mentality we are dealing with and why dumping is such a big problem in our city.
Here we have an entire pick-up service offered by the city, which covers a whole bunch of items such as furniture and toilets, but if there is any extra effort required, then ol’ Matty will just load the thing up into his vehicle and find the nearest bush.
Instead, visit wasteinitsplace.ca for waste disposal and donation options, and use the municipal search tool to find large-item disposal programs in your community.
And don’t be like Matt.
Follow Chris Campbell on Twitter @shinebox44.
