Two Montreal residents are outraged for being fined for leaving their garbage and recycling outside -- after the city failed to pick it up on designated collection days.
Mike Gareau, the owner of the Ben and Jerry's on McGill College Ave. downtown, said he recently put out his recycling on the curb at the corner -- a routine that hasn't changed for the past three years.
"I'm supposed to put it out every Wednesday between 5:00 in the morning and 8:00 in the morning," Gareau said.
But one day last month, the bag was never picked up.
"I think they passed right by, overlooked it completely," he said.
To his surprise, he later received a $628 ticket in the mail for leaving his bag outside.
"I never received a warning, just a $628 ticket -- which is to me way out of whack compared to what I did," Gareau told On Your Side reporter Tania Krywiak.
Petre Andronas, who lives in Verdun, has a similar story.
He says he was slapped with a $264 ticket after his garbage wasn't picked up.
"I was a bit shocked at the amount, of course...in other words, it's my responsibility that they haven't picked it up," Andronas said.
The Ville-Marie borough says a new bylaw implemented in 2007 makes people responsible for their own trash and recycling, if it is not collected by the city.
"There is an obligation for every citizen to take it back inside and to dial 311," said borough spokesperson Jacques Alain Lavallee.
Lavallee said the borough does not issue warnings because "we had a tremendous problem with cleanliness."
Both Gareau and Andronas are planning to contest their tickets.
