London, Ontario is experiencing a serious problem with rats and rodents in our neighbourhoods, and our current garbage collection schedule is making an already unpleasant situation harder for residents to manage.

Household garbage should not have to sit around residential properties for close to two weeks before it is collected.

It is dirty. It smells. It attracts pests. And for many households, it is simply too long to store waste.

Think about what goes into an average family’s garbage: food scraps, meat packaging, diapers, pet waste, sanitary products, spoiled food and countless other items that begin to smell and deteriorate long before collection day arrives. During warmer weather, the problem becomes even worse.

Residents are expected to store this waste on their properties while waiting for collection. Bags can leak or tear, bins can become filthy, odours develop, flies and insects are attracted to the waste, and animals can get into it.

Then there is the issue London residents are increasingly concerned about: rats.

When household garbage containing food waste sits for extended periods, it can become an accessible food source for rats and other animals. Once rodents discover a reliable source of food around residential properties, getting rid of them can become extremely difficult.

This is not simply about wanting our streets to look nicer.

This is a sanitation, pest-control and quality-of-life issue.

Families with young children may have diapers and additional household waste. Larger families naturally produce more garbage. Seniors, caregivers and people with certain medical needs may also generate waste that is particularly unpleasant or difficult to store for extended periods.

No household should be expected to keep bags of deteriorating, foul-smelling garbage sitting around their home for that length of time simply because collection day is still days away.

London continues to grow, and our municipal services need to keep pace with that growth. Our waste collection system should reflect the realities of a growing city and the amount of household waste being generated.

London also needs to take its rat problem seriously.

Pest control cannot fall entirely on individual homeowners and tenants when garbage and other food sources are community-wide issues. Residents can secure their garbage, maintain their properties and use pest-control measures, but reducing the amount of time household waste remains stored around residential properties should also be part of the conversation.

Moving to weekly garbage collection would mean food waste and other household garbage is removed sooner. It would reduce the amount of time garbage has to rot, smell, leak or become accessible to rats, raccoons, insects and other pests.

It would also mean cleaner garbage storage areas, less overflowing waste and fewer bags sitting around properties waiting for collection.

We are asking the City of London and London City Council to seriously examine the impact the current collection schedule is having on sanitation and pest concerns and to consider restoring weekly residential garbage collection.

London residents should not have to accept foul-smelling garbage, overflowing waste and rats around residential neighbourhoods as a normal part of living in our city.

Two weeks is simply too long for household garbage to sit.

This is about more than garbage collection.

It is about sanitation.
It is about rats and pest control.
It is about public health.
It is about cleaner neighbourhoods.
It is about keeping up with London’s growth.
And it is about the quality of life of the people who call London home.

Please sign this petition if you support weekly garbage collection in London, Ontario and want the City to take meaningful action to improve sanitation and address garbage-related rodent and pest concerns throughout our community.

London has a rat problem. London has a garbage problem. It is time we addressed both.