Hamilton's one bag limit has illegal garbage dumping out of control

Illegal dumping and overseeing the one-bag garbage limit are stretching Hamilton’s enforcement powers to the limit.
The city is receiving more than four times as many complaints about illegal dumping of garbage than it did in 2007.
And the complaints, combined with enforcing the one-bag limit that went fully into effect last year, have outstripped staff’s bylaw enforcement capacity.
In addition, the cost of cleaning up illegal dumping is now pegged at $700,000 a year.
Those are some of the findings in a report on rogue dumping and litter which city councillors will consider at a waste management workshop July 6.
The meeting, which was supposed to be held this week but was postponed to deal with CUPE contract negotiations, will also revisit the controversial option of bi-weekly garbage collection.
Councillor Tom Jackson, who’s been warning for more than two years that illegal dumping is an overlooked but rapidly growing problem, says he feels vindicated by the report.
The east Mountain councillor is convinced a good portion of the problem stems from a backlash to the city’s aggressive waste diversion policies which he fears is turning responsible citizens into renegades.
“Now the stats are proving my worst fears,” said Jackson.
According to the report, municipal law enforcement received 1,360 complaints about ditching garbage on public and private property last year compared to 307 in 2007.
The dumping typically takes place by roadways, in alleys, parks, and commercial bins.
Scott Murray, president of the Canadian Carwash Association, this week told councillors that the problem is “chronic.”
In an interview, Murray says Hamilton car wash owners are finding everything from tires and mattress to recyclables like cardboard and yard waste in their dumpsters.
“But the biggest concern is the growth of regular household waste,” Murray said, linking the problem to the one-bag limit.
Jackson also suspects much of the problem is related to shrinking bag limits, which are intended to help meet the goal of diverting 65 per cent of the city’s waste from the Glanbrook landfill.
The one-bag limit was introduced in 2009 and fully enforced by the spring of 2010.
Jackson also thinks tipping fees at city dumps, officially called community recycling centres, may be contributing to the problem.
The public is now charged $8.50 for the first 100 kg and $117 per tonne. Fees were introduced in 1999.
“All of these are factors playing into the community backlash,” says Jackson.
“People have just decided to take things into their own hands.’
Jackson knows he’s often been portrayed as “Neanderthal” for pointing out what he sees as flaws in waste diversion policies.
But he fully commends the waste management division for helping extend the life of the landfill and making Hamiltonians more environmental conscious.
His beef is that progressive policies only tend to be examined from the upside and not the downside.
For Jackson, the downside of change in this instance is a body blow to the city’s cleanliness and image.
In order to deal with the mushrooming complaints and keep enforcing the bag limit, a bylaw officer from property standards has been temporarily transferred to the environmental enforcement team and two other employees are being seconded to help collect more dumping data.
Staff is also recommending more educational efforts, possibly toughening of bylaws and ramping up enforcement, all of which will be discussed at the July meeting.
Meanwhile, staff notes that the city’s waste reduction task force is not at all convinced that the one-container limit is the culprit. They want to collect more data.
You can’t blame them. It is hard to believe that responsible people suddenly start rolling their garbage down ravines or pitching it in alleys because they can only put one bag containing 23 kg. of garbage at the curb each week.
Still, something is obviously happening and Jackson should be congratulated for persistently trying to get to the bottom of it. It’s finally paying off.
In April, the last time council debated biweekly garbage pickup, councillor after councillor also chimed in to complain about illegal dumping in their wards.
The pack is catching up. Jackson is no longer a lone wolf.
Andrew Dreschel's commentary appears Monday, Wednesday and Friday. adreschel@thespec.com

MMA Event "Hammer in the Slammer" draws crowd of 3400 with legendary Chuck Liddell in attendance

It would be simple to look at the Ultimate Fighting Championship show that filled the Rogers Centre in late April, compare it to last night's Slammer in the Hammer and say, no contest.
While both mixed martial arts events were firsts — one for all of Ontario, the other for Hamilton — the first drew 55,000 people to a baseball stadium and convinced them to part with as much as $800 for a ticket while the other attracted about 3,400 to Copps Coliseum despite much-lower prices.

While the comparison wouldn't be inaccurate, it wouldn't be entirely fair either. The UFC has been around for nearly two decades now and has built itself into a multi-billion-dollar, multi-platform industry. It's got a sterling reputation with its fans, money to spend on production, and big-name athletes who can draw a crowd all by themselves.

Last night's Slammer in the Hammer, meanwhile, is a startup. Basically a two-man operation — former HECFI boss Gabe Macaluso and former UFC fighter Jeff Joslin — it was trying to begin carving its niche in a very crowded market. And it might have taken a few steps in that direction.

Most of those in the well-behaved, predominantly male audience — featuring a ton of the predictable shaved heads, gallons of tattoo ink and loads of vocal enthusiasm — would tell you this was a success. It was well-run, featured exciting fights and filled almost every seat.
Miraculously, organizers managed to make the cavernous Copps Coliseum feel intimate by curtaining off everything except the area between the blue lines. That created a good atmosphere and prevented it from feeling like a midweek Bulldogs' game.
Having fighting legend Chuck Liddell and referee Big John McCarthy in the building and posing for pictures with the crowd was a smart move that gave the show a touch of the big time. Setting up a cage slightly smaller than what's used in the UFC was also smart as it ensured there was going to be constant action.
And to put some icing on the cake, the one local fighter on the card — Lyndon Whitlock of Stoney Creek — won with a wicked first-round knockout giving the crowd something to really scream about.
There were areas that need work for next time, for sure. Not having a time clock on the scoreboard was a problem and the sound system made it hard to hear interviews and announcements.
By the time it was over, last night had answered some questions about whether this kind of thing would work here. Even so, at least one significant question still faces the smaller guys of the sport. Can shows like this consistently pull decent crowds or was this a one-off because it was new here and is the UFC now such a massive vacuum sucking up all the air in the mixed martial arts room that there's little oxygen left for these smaller, independent promotions?
The answer falls somewhere in the middle. The UFC is so huge that it's always going to be exceedingly difficult for another show to attract much attention. It plays on the biggest TV networks and features the biggest names in the sport fighting for the most money. The smaller promoters can't compete with that head on.
It's worth noting that when boxing cards have been staged in Hamilton in recent years, promoters have consistently talked about how difficult it is to draw enough paying customers to turn a profit and lamented the endless bureaucratic hoops they've had to jump through. There's little reason to believe things will be much different with this sport.
Making a smaller show work clearly isn't impossible though. Last night hinted at that. There is room for the little brothers. There is a place for events where the fans can get up close and experience the different feeling of seeing a fight live rather than on TV without having to break the bank.
So to carve out their spot in the MMA universe, these smaller shows are going to have to look big-time, keeps the prices down, and make sure every fight is a good one, which is impossible but remains the goal nonetheless. Last night Joslin — who was the matchmaker — did that. The fights were even and entertaining.
Most challenging, they can never have a bad night. When the UFC has the odd dud, it can rebound quickly by pointing to its past or its next TV card just days away. If these smaller groups have a boring show, they may not get a second chance to convince people to fork out their cash. There are just too many options out there right now.
The UFC was in that position once. The fighting world has changed, mind you, but once upon a time it faced the same challenges.
One other thing, for all the success it's having now, the first UFC card drew just 2,800. Six hundred fewer than Slammer.
STORY BY THE SPEC:
sradley@thespec.com

Stoney Creek possibly a finalist for Kraft Celebration Tour and $25,000 Community Award

Cross your fingers Stoney Creek. Local residents have nominated the community for the Kraft Celebration Tour.

Winners of this contest receive $25,000 for upgrades or renovations to a local facility and a live broadcast of TSN SportsCentre from the community.

Resident Bernard Josipovic, who also ran for Ward 10 in the last municipal election, nominated Stoney Creek.

He refers to the community as having a “great beach front, beautiful trails and not to mention one of the best ice cream shops in the province.”

“It has been almost 200 years since Stoney Creek made its way on the map with the Battle of Stoney Creek during the War of 1812. Although its potential in winning this contest is on a much smaller scale, I feel that it's a great opportunity to put Stoney Creek on the map again, not to mention, receive some much needed money to boost our local sports community,” he said.

“Yes, we are a part of Hamilton now, but we are and always will be Stoney Creek first.”

If Stoney Creek wins the money, Josipovic proposes the Stoney Creek News run a poll to have readers suggest how best to allocate the funds.

“Given the constant funding cuts, this would be a great investment not only for our community, but for the many youth that could potentially benefit from this prize,” he said.

Josipovic’s nomination, along with two others on the Kraft Celebration Tour Web site, mention Stoney Creek’s Canada Flag Day celebration, Re-Enactment of the Battle of Stoney Creek, multiculturalism, sports programs, lakefront trail and historic sites as some of the highlights of the community. But they say Stoney Creek needs the funds for its aged hockey arenas and Little League Park.

The top 20 communities will be announced Friday, July 1 at www.kraftcelebrationtour.ca. Then it’s up to Canada to decide the 10 winners via 10 days of head-tohead online voting.

Go Stoney Creek!  Please LIKE us on Facebook

Story by STONEY CREEK NEWS

Hamilton rainfall in May brakes records.

With the heavy rainfall we’ve had in the City of Hamilton this past month, it’s no surprise that we were on pace for some sort of record.

Hamilton set a record of 160.4 mm, beating the previous mark of 137.6 mm set in 2004.

Let’s hope Environment Canada stays true to their word and we have a dryer summer. 

Hamilton may get an NHL team after all if Balsillie behaves.

Failed attempt after failed attempt, Jim Balsillie's determination to own an NHL team might finally pay off.
According to Mike Ozanian of Forbes.com, NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman has told Balsillie that if he "behaves himself and doesn't create any more spectacles and bad publicity for the league, he will eventually get a team."

Being a Hamiltonian myself, I can't help but feel like the chances of seeing a team in my hometown just went up. Then again, the article never specified whether it would be a current team, a relocated team, or an expansion team, so there would still be a lot more questions to be answered. That, and I have to remember that Hamilton has had its share of disappointment.
Balsillie's attempts to bring a team to Hamilton started with his attempt to buy the Pittsburgh Penguins from Mario Lemieux. That was followed by an attempt to buy the Nashville Predators, a sale which involved Balsillie accepting season ticket deposits. It was believed that there was 12,000 season ticket deposits in only five days on the market. After that was the well-publicized attempt to bring the Phoenix Coyotes here two years ago.
Hamilton has been without a team since the Hamilton Tigers left in 1925. There have been numerous attempts other than Balsillie's to bring a team back to Steeltown.

Whether or not there is anything personal between Bettman and Balsillie, this development might just mean that Bettman has finally realized that hockey just isn't working in Phoenix. With the Atlanta Thrashers now moving to Winnipeg, it also seems that Bettman has found out people in Canada like hockey too.
With the inevitable problem of the Toronto Maple Leafs and Buffalo Sabres interfering in any sale, it will probably take money for them to be appeased and Balsillie has plenty of that.
Also, a team such as Phoenix moving to Hamilton for the 2012-13 season could be moved to the Eastern Conference while Winnipeg takes its rightful place in the Western Conference. The only thing that would have to be done is divisional re-alignment.

Since there is no question that Hamilton would be in the Northeast Division, they could either move Boston or Buffalo to the Atlantic depending on what rivalry they want to keep alive, Toronto/Buffalo or Montreal/Boston. Then, Pittsburgh can move to the Southeast.
Some people might say that Hamilton can't support an AHL team, let alone an NHL team. There is one explanation to refute that claim. Right now, Hamilton's only local hockey team is the Hamilton Bulldogs. Our NHL fan base is split between Toronto and Buffalo. Now, for the Toronto fans, there's a problem with the Bulldogs. The Maple Leafs' most hated rival is the Montreal Canadiens and the Bulldogs are Montreal's farm team. Therefore, attendance might not be as high as it should be.

Hamilton has shown already that they can support an NHL team, selling plenty of season ticket deposits when the opportunity arose in the past, so it should not be a problem of support.
Hamilton might just have received the best news in years and if there is any truth to this report, then next season might be very interesting for fans in southern Ontario.
THE BLEACHER REPORT