Together We Can Keep Timmins Litter Free You Vent Are you upset about the litter conditions in Timmins and want to get it off your shoulders? Your UVent will be posted on this page. We will not publish your name unless you give permission to do so. Please visit our contact page HERE to send your UVent. Below are comments from other concerned Timmins residents. Dugwall Pit Disaster - September 23, 2009 I was totally angered and disgusted during a visit to Dugwall Pit this summer. It seems that the area has invaded by campers who have no respect for the environment. The litter left behind was unbelievable. Propane tanks, metals, plastic containers of all kinds. Something must be done about this atrocity! TimminsGetClean is a perfect starting place. Suggestions anyone ? I believe the community should engage itself through this organization to clean this environmental disaster. The Ministry of the Environment should be advised and close monitoring of the area should be initiated immediately. Metro Litter Bugs Issue - September 01, 2009 You know that Metro (formally known as A&P) parking lot? Isn't that a horrible sight in the morning? The amount of garbage that occurs in one night is appalling. Upset Resident - August 27, 2009 Dear home owner on Mascioli in the nice big new house, I hope you enjoy your landscape renovations.  I would like to thank you for dumping your gravel and yard waste - about 2 pick up loads worth - through your white gate and along the nature trail behind your home.  Your convenience and obvious sloth is a shameful eyesore for those who walk this beautiful trail. Thank you for sharing your selfishness. I'm please to see that you have also dumped some similar waste in the empty lot across from your home, thereby not discriminated against those who are unable walk the trails yet still wish to see your trash. ABOVE ISSUE RESOLVED: After intervention from the City of Timmins Municipal Law Enforcement office, the owner of the property and the contractor responsible for dumping the waste have a plan to make this site less of an eyesore.  The offending contractor has hopefully learned that our nature trails are not a private dump. What a Joke - January 15 2009 After returning to the library this week, I notice the outside garbage cans are still overflowing all over the sidewalk. This has been on going since January 6, (how long prior to that I do not know) it is now Jan 15. The same garbage's still have not been changed, becoming frustrated, I decided to e-mail the city, 2 address's I acquired returned my mail. I finally called public works, and long story short, the 'maintenance' of the library outside garbage is contracted out, therefore, we tax payers are not even paying for slack workers, we are paying for the work NOT to be done at all. Utterly ridiculous and embarrassing, who is ripping off the City and ourselves? The gentleman at public works simply said it is contracted out. I wonder what Timmins tax payers would think of ALL the abuse being done, not only the obvious in your face fraud.  Anonymous email - January 08, 2009 I was unimpressed while at the library, the garbage outside is obviously full and overflowing. Two days later, same garbage, still overflowing, all over the ground now. Does everybody just stroll by playing ignorant? If I was in better physical shape I would do it myself. Sorry if I'm venting to the wrong outfit, I guess I could call city hall. Anonymous email - June 24, 2008 I don’t believe the City of Timmins really wants to clean up this town. They offer a spring clean up program and then tell you everything you cannot put at the curb. They provide no tipping charges from May 5 to 16 if you bring the items to the Deloro dump yourself. I know someone who had to replace a new truck tire from driving into the dump and going over a nail. Nope, I won’t be bringing my clean up items to the dump. Each year my husband and I clean up our block. We live on a dead end street and have a large field behind our house. We pick up on average 8 green garbage bags of neighbours garbage every year. We also find bikes, car batteries and building material. Some items obviously put there on purpose, other items brought over by bears from our 5 neighbours. This year the city chose to pick up the garbage bags we filled (which could have been left for garbage day over the next couple of weeks) and left behind the metal and wood items that belonged to us. We will put them away for next years pick up I guess and break up what we can to fit into garbage bags for the next garbage day. If we had left the neighbours garbage in the field I wouldn’t have been penalized for having “an excessive amount” of items at the curb. No cardboard – so how do you box up the little items that are too awkward for a garbage bag? No construction demolition – just what is that? Is that why my small pieces of gyproc were left behind? No appliances – microwave, kettles, toasters? Two tires per household used to be allowed. What are people going to do with their tires? Where do they think all this leftover clean-up junk is going to go? In the bush, down by the dump, any back road at all. I think this was one of the poorest done spring clean-ups I can remember. Congratulations on all your good work, this certainly is a city in need of organizations like yours. This wanton disregard for the environment would not be tolerated in British Columbia. The reason for my email is because spring has reared its ugly head and what has been hiding under that white blanket. I was walking across the Whitney cemetery parking lot and came upon many bundles of the 2007-2008 phone books that were dumped in the early snows of November or December between the parking lot and the cemetery. Its hard to tell exactly how many bundles are there but by the looks of it there are many. Do know who is responsible for distributing phone books around Timmins and the east end? I thought it is usually done by the Daily press or Timmins Times and their carriers. It seems as if these people just discarded these books instead of delivering them and most likely got paid for them. Anonymous email - September 26, 2007 Wow!!! Awesome Job Rick & Debbie along with those who help organize and contribute to this worthwhile challenge!! I can honestly say, there is a remarkable difference!  Although there is much to be done! You should consider a page for “ Dead Beat ~ Litterbugs/Dumpers”, in the same way they have websites for Dead Beat Dads! People could post descriptions of vehicles / even license plate numbers of these offenders, or addresses of these people. There is absolutely no excuse for this behavior! Give back to community - September 07, 2007 Having lived here for 5 years now, it is great to finally see some action taking place in regards to cleaning up this town.  The one thing I told family about this town when first moving here was that the city looked trashy and like a dump – parks were unkempt, garbage everywhere and it seemed very little pride from the residents of this city when taking a look at their lawns.  I’ve always practiced keeping my garbage for the garbage can – I don’t want litter along a walk-way that I will use frequently.  In my home town, our high-school was paid by local businesses to do the town clean-up every spring as a fund raiser for our band/choir trips.  Yes, we were a smaller community of only 10,000 and only one high-school, but here you have many businesses and high-schools to contribute.  There are so many school fund-raisers with chocolate sales, car washes, etc – why not have a fund raiser that gives back to the community? Just an idea. From concerned citizen - June 22, 2007 I live in one of those 'better' neighborhoods, neat expensive houses etc. These well to do people still throw their Tim Horton cups on the road in the bush area. Sometimes they land right on our driveway. How would it be, if I'd drop my garbage on their driveway? Please, take your garbage home. You must have seen me out there picking up your water bottles and coffee cups. Thank you for listening. Thank you for this website. I'd love to take part in cleaning up Timmins on June 24, but I have too much picking up to do right around where I live. Name withheld. TimminsGetClean Website - Thursday June 22, 2007 I would really love to join in and do my part and help clean-up Timmins.  Just an idea to expand this group - try FACE BOOK, create a group and it will attract more people then ever. We all need to take responsibility and I thank you very much for organizing this! It is great. TimminsGetClean Website - Thursday June 22, 2007 I'd like to first of all thank you for stepping up and taking initiative.  Our community needs more leaders like you.  I agree that our city is disgustingly filthy.  It was never like this 20 years ago.  The thing that irks me the most is that it takes individual action for these changes to take place instead of Timmins City Council taking responsibility and actually DO THEIR JOBS.  Onus is on them!  These are municipal issues which need to be addressed by municipal government.  They are simply not doing their job.  This is wrong. Local residents shouldn't have to go to these great lengths in order to enjoy basic things like clean streets and sidewalks free of litter and debris.  These are basic necessities for ANY community.  This shouldn't even be an issue.  We pay taxes so we don't have to worry about these things. Council is always talking about improving tourism.  The city should focus on core fundamentals like no garbage strewn across the downtown desert streets before wasting money on stupid frivolous things.  They wonder why the downtown area is suffering.  It doesn't take a genius to figure it out.  They've got the cart before the horse. TimminsGetClean Website - Thursday June 14, 2007Thank you for setting up this site, and for promoting the clean-up of trash in Timmins. It seems no corner of the city is exempt. Even out here on Frederick-house Lake Road and Ice Chest Road there is plenty of litter, mostly of the fast-food-packaging variety. A walk on these roads in the spring usually yields up a good crop of beer empties. My neighbour and I would go for walks and pick these up, to be redeemed at the Beer Store for 10 cents apiece. You'd think people would want their deposit back, wouldn't you? I'm glad to see from your schedule for the first clean-up, that the area at Hgwy 655 and Algonquin, by Nighthawk Trailer Sales and the Travelodge Hotel will be covered. That embankment is an embarrassment to the city. Thanks very much for doing this. If we're not out canoeing on the 24th of June, we'll be garbage picking with other concerned citizens. TimminsGetClean Website - Monday June 11, 2007 Hi Rick! Amanda and I are part of the Schumacher Clean Up Committee (no official name per-say..) I’m just dropping you a line to let you know that I fully support this initiative. This is something that more residents MUST get behind. Well, they can choose to stand behind and support this cause (by actually pitching in) or can continue to be the root of the problem. As an aside, I have had it with the TIM NORTON’S garbage that lines our streets and our wooded areas. Smokers are NO better, I know that you shouldn’t pain everyone with the same brush but why is it that between coffee cups and cigarette butts, you can barely make out the ground beneath this litter. I have thought about how one would go about holding Tim Norton’s and these other fast food providers accountable for their wasteful, non recyclable containers. Many interesting ideas come to mind…If we stick together we WILL force the city’s hand to do more; you can see that since the spring clean-up they have been running ½ page adds reminding people of the by-law and saying that it will be strictly enforced. There is a follow up meeting in July and we are anxiously waiting on city hall’s updates to our complaints. I love your site and your willingness to make a change. Please let me know if I can be of assistance in the future. Take care and we’ll talk soon. Darrell Pilon.  TimminsGetClean Website - Monday June 11, 2007 Hi Rick – I think it’s great what you’re doing. We need someone to try to spearhead some clean up in this city. It’s embarrassing when you have company from out of town come in and there is garbage everywhere.  TimminsGetClean Website - Sunday June 10, 2007 Rick, Thank you for returning my email, I was shocked actually. The sight with the dead dog is up just passed the Timmins dump site  to the right. I notice lately someone has erected private property signs so this may be to our advantage-they may have to clean it up. The bag with the dog was quite awhile ago and I was so horrified I didn’t do anything at the time. It was a little black dog with a red collar. It isn't there now, I checked. The mine sight is on top of the hill and I’ve asked others if they know the name, I’ve been told there were a few-the Preston, the Aunor or the Delinite??? At the top of the hill there is a circle area {which you used to be able to drive around} but now the heap of garbage blocks it. Then you continue to the right to the peak and there is a huge hole from an abandoned building filling with garbage. This looks out onto the slimes. For years I would come rushing thru the door telling my kids about what I’ve seen in the bush and never taking the steps to publicize it. I am so grateful for this sight. Thank you once again. Hey, the high school students require 40 volunteer hours each, wouldn't this be a great idea?  TimminsGetClean Website - Saturday June 09, 2007 To City Hall, This weekend is the road runner relay, being held at our beautiful Gillies Lake.  I was there last night, and there is garbage all of the grounds, and garbage overflowing from the garbage cans.  Please clean this up before the road runner relay starts.  I can’t imagine what our beautiful lake will look like after this event. Please clean up Gillies Lake.  If this garbage is only picked up on scheduled days, this is NOT working.  The garbage cans are constantly overflowing.  If this problem is the Mattagami Region’s responsibility, then please have them comply with your own by-laws.  TimminsGetClean Website - Saturday June 09, 2007 Why do people have to empty their vehicle cigarette ashtrays in assorted parking lots? Why do some people only scoop their pooches poop if there are people who saw the dirty deed? If a garbage can at Gillies Lake trail is full -- hang on to your garbage and bring it home --surely you were not walking around the lake with something so smelly that it couldn't wait till later to dispose of it. I like the suggestion from a previous message regarding recycle bin lids to prevent our  from flying out on windy days. This past Friday , I laid a piece of wood across to cover them as it was terribly windy . Thankfully the driver figured out the purpose. Anyways , nice website and I will surely pass it along to friends. Just emailing you with a few comments about your new web-page. It is a great web-page that will bring up a lot of awareness about how dirty the city is getting and making the City aware of it.  What I would like to say is when these people are sending in photos of "Dirty eyesores", are they actually taking 5 minutes after they take the photo and cleaning it up? There is a picture of an overflowing garbage can. The picture does show the eyesore, but did that person take a moment to clean it up??? Probably not. I am sure the City is doing what they can to keep it clean, but I am sure the people of Timmins can also put in a hand to help out the issue. I also looked at your "Scheduled Clean up Times" but that is empty. Maybe start taking to local clubs (i.e. Boy Scouts) and try to implement a clean up weekend crew like they do in the Barrie/Toronto area. Just a suggestion. Keep up the good work with promoting this and best of luck. However, push the people of Timmins also in keeping the City clean. It is a great city to live in. And I also want to say good job to the City because they do a lot of work to make Timmins a beautiful place.  TimminsGetClean Website - Friday June 08, 2007 This forum is a great idea. We need to speak out about the city turning into a trash heap. We also need to go further. Our city is also looking more and more like a strip mine with the now transformed Hollinger being used again and the lots like beside the Burger King. There are also really obvious eyesores like behind the lake at the site of the old McIntyre park (the fluorescent orange stream back there, not to mention the lake water itself) and the stream beside the Hydro installations at the start of the back road. We have city officials obsessing over tourism and the Shania Twain center who need to divert some of their passion to cleaning up the town and enforcing ALL bylaws. Things will only get worse before they get better... anyone else worried about the idea of a quarry behind the hospital? Like Timmins really needs to lose more of it's greenery...  TimminsGetClean Website - Friday June 08, 2007 If you want to see major littering go in the bush after the may run you will be sick to your stomach at what you see especially on Dalton Road so its not just in the city core ... i think that city hall in conjunction with the M N R should have  in school sessions and educate our young on the reasons why not to litter and pollute  I guess  we just don’t have enough pride in our town  and it starts with city hall and at home.. p.s. one question why don’t we have lids on our green recycle boxes a good wind usually empties them easily whoever orders these boxes without lids should be held accountable  its a no brainer  lids will keep things in the boxes.  TimminsGetClean Website - Friday June 08, 2007 Just past the city dump I invite anyone, including City council. and our Mayor to drive making a right up towards the old mine ruins. This has been a very special lookout to me and my dogs. For two summers I would go and collect garbage everyday, and I actually thought I had a jump on it. On Sunday I revisited the area and was brought to tears. People would give their left nut to have the beauty we enjoy here. The area is a disgrace, garbage everywhere-diapers, glass,tires even a dead dog in a garbage bag....I no longer can let my dogs walk this area. We worry about bears???? hah. The goodies up there are abundant. I live here mainly for the bush and clean air-the beauty of our land. I thought of rummaging thru the garbage, trying to find some type of ID and then I could return the garbage to the rightful owner. Good idea? I applaud this sight and waste no time expressing my support as well as my frustrations. One person expressed the notion that our mines are such an eyesore when it comes to waste- but we as a community don't see that as much as the littering around town. Pollution is another issue but let's start by cleaning up The City with the Heart of Gold-not, the city with the s!@$ load of garbage.  TimminsGetClean Website - Thursday June 07, 2007 Great website!! While the people of Timmins certainly need to clean up their act, so does City Hall.  Countless times I've walked by the garbage containers placed around the city, especially in the down town area and they've been overflowing with food and litter.  The smell coming from them is disgusting, especially on hot days.  I've contacted City Hall about this, only to be told that these containers are emptied on a certain 'schedule'.  What crap!  They should be emptied as required, not on some schedule. TimminsGetClean Website - Thursday June 07, 2007 ABSOLUTELY a GREAT website... I read it in its entirety.  I think the "bring a grocery bag on a walk" is a wonderful idea.  I will pass this site on to some friends here in Peterborough. GOOD JOB!!!  TimminsGetClean Website - Thursday June 07, 2007 I work early mornings (4-5AM), and travel through the city on Algonquin daily. One thing I have noticed is people think just because not many people are up and driving that it legal to throw your coffee cup out your window onto the road.  Why not if you drink coffee daily and are too lazy to make your own, take that used coffee cup and stop just before the drive through window and use the garbage can? Even better, have the city force the coffee shops to write the driver's license number on the bottom of the cups that go through the drive through, and maybe that would keep the cups off the roads. I once broke down on the Sudbury highway not far from Timmins, I had to walk about 500 feet to get cell service, but in that 500 or so feet, I counted over 200 coffee cups, pop cans, and water bottles in the ditch.  Is this a way to treat the environment. Shame on you Timmins residents, keep our fine city clean! TimminsGetClean Website - Thursday June 07, 2007 Praise and thanks goes out to the groups of young people who were picking up and bagging trash along Highway 101 on the weekend.  Congratulations to the organizers and their crew!  TimminsGetClean Website - Thursday June 07, 2007 I would like to point out that a lot of blame is going towards City Hall and City workers. Let's not forget they DID NOT throw the garbage? Nor abandon those shacks? Bottom line is people are responsible for their actions and the results they create. Yes, they should fine people who litter, absolutely! But, the blame is not on them, it's on the pigs who litter! Coffee cups everywhere? Is it because the cups are so heavy that people can't wait till they get home to throw them in the garbage? Or wait till they walk by a garbage can? You see them everywhere! In the bush, on the side-walks, parking lots, and store shelves?? Hello people! Come on people! Let's wake up and make a little effort. TimminsGetClean Website - Thursday June 07, 2007 There is more to cleaning up Timmins. Timmins and the environmental office has been made aware of a serious environmental problem going on for years and still going on after numerous complaints at that recycling place on the back road to south end. This company has been breaching environmental laws for far too long it is illegal to let or permit Freon gas to escape into the atmosphere. They are crushing appliances containing freon gas almost daily. One other serious problem is the crushing of vehicles with freon, wind shield washer, oil, batteries, tires, gas in tanks. All liquids and oil should be recovered. It looks like someone at City Hall and the environmental office is not doing their job. It's bad enough not to care but come on do your job or let someone else do it. CLEAN UP TIMMINS SHOULD START WITH THESE INDIVIDUALS. THANKS FOR CARING. TimminsGetClean Website - Tuesday June 05, 2007 Just checked your site which I got from Channel 3 News. Congratulations on this worthwhile effort. If I could take pictures to send you, I would take one of the property across from the Chartrand housing on Preston Street; and a lot abutting the Lionel Gauthier school yard on Preston Street between Belanger and Commercial. Thank you for caring. TimminsGetClean Website - Tuesday June 05, 2007 I’m a person who walks 4 kilometres just about everyday. I try to take different routes to change the scenery a bit. What’s always constant in my treks is the litter, especially the type of litter. Coffee cups are thrown everywhere and have become a part of the landscape so much that we take it for granted. Come on people it starts with you not someone else but you. Throw your litter in the garbage containers, be an example to your fellow citizen and encourage others to do the same. If we tolerate this we are just as guilty. I’m so happy that this site exists because this has been a pet peeve of mine for years. TimminsGetClean Website - Monday June 04, 2007 I’m venting not about garbage but about the ongoing problem with local environment officers not taking their job serious.  There is a recycler on the back road to South Porcupine that crushes  cars and appliances. What are they doing with all the oil and anti freeze from those vehicles and what about the fridges, isn't the gas  dangerous. One morning I got up before the sun and drove there and watched them picking up appliances with loaders and putting them in the pile so I looked into it and yes there is gas in fridges and it is one of the biggest cause for the  ozone problem we have. I then reported it to our local environment officer telling him that I had proof on camera I was told he would look into it that was 2 months with no response and no change.   TimminsGetClean Website - Friday June 01, 2007 Good for you!  We have the same problem in South End. How about taking our cameras with us everywhere we go and submitting photos of the offenders to your website if we catch litterbugs? I know one small group took it in their own hands and spent a day trying to clean up the Davidson Road (extension of Crawford) but they only scratched the surface.  We need bigger fines! To the people who don't secure their loads and lose things on the way to the dump: Don't tell me that you didn't recognize that bag or box on your trip back. Stop and pick it up. Do the right thing. The Timmins Press - Tuesday May 22, 2007 To those complaining about the garbage outside, why not go for a walk with a shopping bag and pick some of it up? What a good example it would show to people around you. You might start a new trend! Discarded POOP! The clean-up of MacLean from Lavigne to the trail and beyond as well as the Scout Rock Trail to NorthGlen has begun again in spite of the discarded dog poop in plastic bags. Thank you for leaving only your footprints behind.     TimminsGetClean.com