Litter in Toronto

, originally uploaded by Kevin Steele.

Toronto had a reputation for a long time as a very clean city. Before I lived in Toronto, I went there for my honeymoon in April, 1998. It was indeed very clean. When I moved there in 2003, it seemed so much dirtier. People throw litter on the street all the time. One time I was riding on the street car and at almost every stop, someone was smoking and threw the cigarette on the ground before boarding.

I've noticed that Toronto still enjoys this pristine and clean reputation outside of the area. When we were living in Toronto and visited upstate NY, people would comment about how it must be nice to live in such a clean city. We were sorry to have to tell them that it was no longer true.

Toronto is a wonderful city and there are a lot of reasons to visit or live there, but a litter-free wonderland it is not.

Cigarette Butts in Front of a Bar on Bloor Street

Cigarette Butts in Front of a Bar on Bloor Street, originally uploaded by Melsky.

You can't smoke in bars at all anymore in Toronto, so for bars with no back patio people go out on the sidewalk and smoke, throwing their butts on the sidewalk when finished.

In the warmer months it's very unpleasant to walk in front of some bars because there's a row of guys out in front smoking, who being drunk freqently act very rude. I plan my routes to avoid these places.