Whats With All The Garbage In The Lane?

I have been noticing the dumpsters in my back lane get piled higher and higher with bags of garbage this last week. Yes, bags of garbage. What is it that is so odd about that? Well, I do not normally see garbage bags. I think I mentioned this regarding the Christmas garbage found in my lane this year. So, what is going on? Is it winter, and we are all using garbage bags now? And the amount of garbage. We had our dumpsters emptied last week, so the great piles of bags filling, and over-filling our dumpsters is for this one week. For a while I thought maybe someone moved out of the neighbourhood, and dumped all their unwanted garbage in the dumpsters. But the garbage does not fit for that. I do not see great piles of clothes, toys, furniture, and misc. garbage in and around the dumpsters. All I see is large piles of bags. There are the large black garbage bags, and smaller grocery store and dollarstore bags. So, whats up with all the bags?

During the summer, there was one week when there was no illegal dumping. The dumpsters were only half full. Then I look at the absolutely overloaded dumpsters this last week. I can only assume that some of this garbage has come from outside my group of neighbours. Although I did not witness any cars or trucks driving down the lane, depositing their unwanted bags of refuse, I do not know how else to explain the huge piles of garbage, conveniently packaged in bags.
Then Thursday can and went, and the garbage remained in the dumpsters. Since starting this blog, I have had the dumpsters in my lane emptied every Thursday, and I mean every Thursday. Even last Thursday, right after Christmas, the dumpsters were emptied. But not this week. The truck did drive down my lane, but it passed the overfilled dumpsters. Not one dumpster in my lane got emptied. I notified 311 that the truck came by, and did not empty any of the dumpsters, and also stated that it was possible the truck was full, and was not able to take the garbage. Then, early Friday morning, the garbage truck arrived and emptied the dumpsters.
When I did my back lane walk yesterday, I saw the remains of garbage around the dumpsters and on the ground. There is garbage strewn all over the back lane. This is because the dumpsters were so overfilled that the garbage did not all make it into the garbage truck. And I am sure some of the garbage had fallen from the dumpster prior to the truck arriving, or was deposited beside an already overfilled dumpster.
So now my back lane is filled with garbage. Some is still in partially destroyed garbage bags, and some garbage bags are still intact. Other garbage is loose and spread over the lane, beside and under the dumpsters, and down the lane.
I have been picking up some of the garbage, even though my husband is concerned for my safety. There could be needles or any number of other dangerous items in the bags I am picking up. But I am trying to be careful, picking up edges of loose plastic on the bags, hoping to not touch the contents in any way. A few of the neighbours I have talked to are also trying to clean up some of this garbage spread through the lane, but there is so much. And some of it should not be touched without proper protective clothing. So, I have notified 311 of the conditions of the lane and asked for the assistance of the Waste Management people in cleaning the garbage.
Maybe we need the security cameras in our back lanes, to protect our dumpsters from garbage criminals. I don't think anyone from my lane is responsible for this horrid mess that we must now clean up. And as outsiders drive past, all they see is how the North End residents have no respect for their property and keep such disgusting back lanes. But what I see is myself and a few other responsible neighbours out cleaning up someone else's mess. I see the North End cleaning up some other person's garbage.