Garbage 'juice' leaking from trucks stinks, says fed up Saint-Henri resident
Eric Burnet says washing streets isn't enough to protect children from potentially 'toxic' sludge
A Saint-Henri resident says the Southwest borough needs to do more to stop liquid garbage from leaking out of collection trucks and onto neighourhood streets.
Eric Burnet told CBC Montreal's Daybreak that he's noticed the sludge slopping from garbage trucks on a few occasions.
"One morning in particular I was a couple of blocks behind the garbage truck and this juice was leaking in quantities — I would say bucketfuls — and I had to dodge it on my bike," he said.
"I saw people getting out of their cars and stepping in it and gagging."
'Diapers, medicine and chemicals'
Burnet said he's worried that the sludge could be toxic given the makeup of household waste and pointed to soiled diapers, medicine and chemicals in particular.
"This stuff is on the ground, people step in it, even once it's dried. Children are walking through it. I'm concerned mainly for children and people who walk or use their bikes regularly," he said.
He posted about it on the St-Henri community Facebook page and said around 30 people replied.
He also decided to capture it on video, hoping the evidence would encourage the borough to take action.
Maintenance issue, or normal?
Burnet called the city's 311 information line to complain and once raised his concerns with city employees working on the trucks. In both cases, he was told a street-cleaning truck would come by and wash away the mess.
"That's nice, it's appreciated — except it doesn't address the maintenance issue," Burnet said.
Research he's conducted suggests the trucks are leaking because they're either poorly maintained or overloaded.
The Southwest borough refused CBC's request for an interview, but spokesman Thierry Larrivée said the leaking sludge is normal.
"The trucks are made like that. The juice has to go somewhere. We send tankers to hose the asphalt whenever we have a complaint. It's not just in Saint-Henri that this is a problem," he said.
Burnet said it's "unreasonable" that citizens have to call every time a truck leaks.
"From what I see, it happens every garbage day throughout Saint-Henri, every time," he said.
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With files from CBC's Daybreak