If July 1 is Moving Day in Montreal, the next day is Clean Up the Streets Day for city workers.
On Sunday, 80,000 people changed addresses, meaning streets were filled with everything from used mattresses to refrigerators to smaller household items like pots and pans.
The amount of garbage?
Tons.
“All in all we will have this week to take care of 50,000 tons of garbage in Montreal,” said Philippe Sabourin, a city spokesman.
The garbage often makes it difficult to navigate streets and sidewalks, forcing the city to use backhoes to dispose of the trash.
Sabourin said that movers can do more than just dispose of their unwanted belongings.
“If it's at all possible citizens should recycle those things our eco-centers are already open so we're asking citizens to recycle their furniture,” he said.
Montreal has seven ecocentres, and they are open until 6 p.m. everyday.
While the city is encouraging recycling, because of health and hygiene risks, they don’t advise people to pick up items off the street to use as their own.
