[SpongeG]

my friend said he heard that binners are planning a riot if "their" bins get touched :shrug: :koko:

apparently the city is going to require bins be locked or put in places where the street binenrs can't get to them

and the binners are pissed

[mr.x]

binners??? what are they?

[Canadian Mind]

better known as "Dupster Divers"

They dive into dumpsters looking for your table scraps, and small palatable pieces of cardboard.

Edit - SFU posted the more honest version. I just described the hooligans.

[SFUVancouver]

Binners / dumpster divers are people who make their living by going through garbage and recycling bins for anything of value. They return bottles and cans for the deposit, sell scrap metal to recycling companies, and use or sell anything else of value to the pawn shops, each other, and to the public in small sidewalk bazaars. Honestly, they do a service. Most people put out their household cans and bottles in bags or on dumpsters with complete certainty that they will be picked up within the hour, and usually a lot less.

While most binners are respectful and don't make a mess, there are some who make it look like a garbage bomb exploded. Usually these people are strung out on drugs and borderline violent however in my opinion they make up only a small minority.

I think the deposit on cans and bottles should be doubled. It would be the single most expedient way to increase the incomes of a very large segment of a vulnerable population and, hopefully, allow many to afford housing who currently cannot.

The downtown merchants association is moving towards removing all garbage bins and utilizing several-times-daily pick up service as a way to combat the mess the strung-out jerks cause. It will hurt the wrong people and the drug addled idiots who caused the problems will move on to do other anti-social things.

We need way more drug treatment and recovery resources, social housing, and a major reversal of the Province's utterly disastrous mental health programs (or lack thereof).

[osirisboy]

my friend said he heard that binners are planning a riot if "their" bins get touched :shrug: :koko:

apparently the city is going to require bins be locked or put in places where the street binenrs can't get to them

and the binners are pissed

i heard that the city (downtown anyway) is getting rid of dumpsters all together by the end of the year. the city want to turn the lane ways into more pedestrian friendly streets, just like what Seattle did 10 years ago.

[raggedy13]

^What do downtown tenants do in terms of garbage storage/collection without dumpsters?

Would be cool to have lanes be more pedestrian friendly, especially if you could manage to get some sort of shops or services going on in there to make them worth wandering through (and close it off to traffic). The scale would make it feel more like a narrow European backstreet.

[leftside]

This is a great idea. The dumpster divers make a complete mess of the alleys in my neighbourhood. It is an environmental hazard. The area behind the dumpsters also make great spaces for various acts of prostitution, urination and drug taking.

The number one reason why they dumpster dive is to feed their drug habit. 100 cans = 1 hit of crack. The only winners are the drug dealers.

> a major reversal of the Province's utterly disastrous mental health programs
I agree with you 100% on that point.

[osirisboy]

^What do downtown tenants do in terms of garbage storage/collection without dumpsters?

a lot of downtowns dont have all the dumpsters like what vancouver has. personally i found it weird to see all the dumpsters here after moving here from ottawa.

for yaletown anyway they will keep their garbage in garbage rooms etc inside the buildings and have much more frequent garbage pickup, every morning or every other morning.

[leftside]

We also keep our garbage in a garbage room inside the building. It's the commercial dumpsters that are the problem.

[SpongeG]

yeah i think isn't that a requirement now for new condos? to have indoor garbage instead of in the lane?

its just beyond me how the dumpster divers think that its their property though

[entheosfog]

With no dumpsters in alley, it will sure make finding a spot to park in a alley all that much easier for delivery drivers like me. Especially in Yaletown!

Also, I'm glad my apartment (circa 1980) has the dumpster locked in the parkade, especially during the garbage strike.

I'm happy the dumpsters are being removed but I also agree with what was said earlier about getting the binners off the street and not reliant on them.

[mr.x]

This is a great idea. The dumpster divers make a complete mess of the alleys in my neighbourhood. It is an environmental hazard. The area behind the dumpsters also make great spaces for various acts of prostitution, urination and drug taking.

wtf, sex behind a dumpster? sick.

[Canadian Mind]

wtf, sex behind a dumpster? sick.

It's prostitution dude, anything goes. :yuck:

[deasine]

^I guess you haven't been in the downtown east side enough mr. x. Anyway I completely sponsor it. It is one of the major factors that made downtown east side become downtown EAST SIDE.

I think the city is trying to really clean up its image in time for the olympics, trying to fast-track anything possible.

[Nutterbug]

my friend said he heard that binners are planning a riot if "their" bins get touched :shrug: :koko:

In collaboration with the APC, no doubt.

[1ajs]

make it ileagal to toss anything thats got deposits on it

[ckkelley]

Put me in the yes camp.

Can't wait 'til it happens. I used to live in Gastown. In a suite that overlooked the alley and 7 dumpsters....