Democracy Gone Astray

Democracy, being a human construct, needs to be thought of as directionality rather than an object. As such, to understand it requires not so much a description of existing structures and/or other related phenomena but a declaration of intentionality.
This blog aims at creating labeled lists of published infringements of such intentionality, of points in time where democracy strays from its intended directionality. In addition to outright infringements, this blog also collects important contemporary information and/or discussions that impact our socio-political landscape.

All the posts here were published in the electronic media – main-stream as well as fringe, and maintain links to the original texts.

[NOTE: Due to changes I haven't caught on time in the blogging software, all of the 'Original Article' links were nullified between September 11, 2012 and December 11, 2012. My apologies.]

Wednesday, August 01, 2012

West Toronto's trash pickup goes private next week

Garbage pickup in Toronto's west will be carried out by a private contractor as of next week, fulfilling a key promise of Mayor Rob Ford.

Next week private trash collector Green For Life of Pickering, Ont., will handle all routes between Yonge Street and the Humber River — about 165,000 homes in all.

The firm bid $186.4 million for the contract, averaging $17.4 million per year. That bid was less than those submitted by three other eligible, larger companies.

City staff estimate the contract will save Toronto $78.4 million over its seven-year span and $11.9 million in its first year.

A private company already picks up residential garbage in Etobicoke.

At its facilty in Etobicoke, Green For Life has 90 new trucks set to hit the streets next week and 600 trucks across the province to draw on.

"If we need to draw from those resources, we will to ensure that we can get that material collected," Brian Kent of GFL said.

Rob Orpin, the city's director of solid-waste collection, said residents may see their garbage picked up a little later in the day.

"The collection of the material may be slightly different now with the contractor then with [what] city forces did, but it will be collected that day," he said.

Orpin said city supervisors will deal with the company on a daily basis to make sure they are picking up what they are supposed to pick up and dealing with customer service complaints.

Orpin said can still call 311 if they have any issues.

Original Article
Source: CBC
Author: cbc

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