Campbell Park garbage protesters chain selves

Protesters at Campbell Park are angry about the trash being brought into their neighbourhood and the chemicals used to control odours and pests.

Some residents in the Campbell Park neighbourhood, one of the garbage protest hotspots, chained themselves together to keep more trash from being dropped there.

The city closed the dump for the night at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, which is the usual time for the temporary dumps in operation during Toronto's civic strike -- which has gone on for 31 days and counting.

Mayor David Miller said Wednesday that Dr. David McKeown, the city's chief medical officer of health, had issued an order requiring pest control to be carried out at the site.

"We've been trying to spray Campbell Park since Sunday. We've been unable to obtain access," he told reporters during a briefing at city hall.

"Hopefully the pickets will comply with the order. If not, we will seek an immediate court injunction."

CTV Toronto's Reshmi Nair said residents told her that they are frustrated about the pesticides, saying they are worried about their health and the environment.

McKeown has said a properly-maintained temporary dump should pose no health risks to neighbourhoods.

Youth in the Campbell Park area, located near Bloor Street and Lansdowne Avenue, spent some of their Wednesday making garbage art, in part to make a point to people bringing trash into their neighbourhood.

Some kids complained about not having access to pools this summer and missing soccer games.

The rink at Campbell Park, which is filling with garbage, would require 80 trucks to haul it away, according to striking CUPE workers.

With 19 active temporary sites and five closed ones, moving the waste accumulated there since the strike began on June 22 would fill six lanes of the DVP between Highway 401 and Eglinton Avenue.

Miller was asked whether the city had plans to truck away the garbage that has built up so far, rather than opening up new temporary dumps.

"As I was asked yesterday, that is logistically extremely challenging," he said.

Besides the large number of trucks, the garbage legally belongs to Republic Services Inc., which holds the contract to haul Toronto's trash - and three picket lines would have to be crossed, he said.

With a report from CTV Toronto's Reshmi Nair