Garbage piles up in Toronto neighbourhood almost 2 weeks after major snowstorm

The City of Toronto says it's still working 24 hours a day, seven days a week to clean up roads, sidewalks and lanes after a massive snowstorm almost two weeks ago.

On Saturday, there were plans to clear 80 local roads. 

But another problem has developed for residents of one neighbourhood: garbage has been piling up because trucks can't get to their homes.

Muying Lin, a homeowner at The Village at York University, said waste wasn't picked up for nine days after the storm.

"The garbage is everywhere, it's very messy," Lin told CBC Toronto. "There's lots of snow so it's hard for the trucks to go through."

Lin said the municipal government should do more to remove the snow as quickly as possible.

"There's still lots of snow here," he said.

A major snowstorm hit Toronto and the GTA on Jan. 17, dumping more than 30 centimetres of snow in some areas and causing major transit and driving delays.

A week later, Toronto was dealt with another blast of snow even as it continued to dig out from the previous storm. 

Another resident, Naeel Premji, said his bins have been out for more than a week awaiting collection.

"No garbage trucks have passed by. It has been hard for us to pass through, it's pretty difficult … it smells," Premji said.

Coun. Josh Matlow said while he recognizes that it would be a "struggle" to clear the roads and sidewalks after such a "'massive winter blizzard," waiting almost a week and a half is "not good enough."

He said city staff need to address why so many local roads have not been adequately cleared.

"Sidewalks are still impassable and access with respect to garbage, transit, etc. are still really difficult," Matlow said.