The City-wide roll out of the new garbage bins is now just about complete but that is not the end of changes to our collection system.

A recent article has drawn attention to a call for "welfare for waste" to create better ways to eliminate special waste items. Apparently as of November 1, the city is set to implement a unique recycling program for the bulky items no one is quite sure what do with, save putting them out for local treasure hunters or otherwise going in with the garbage. City solid waste manager Geoff Rathbone is quoted as saying even though for many of these types of items the City has no idea how exactly they will be recycled, they are going to "just jump in" and figure it out as they go along. We're talking about big items such as mattresses, carpets, and furniture.

I was pretty surprised to hear the City talking about a program that doesn't seem to be announced yet. Details are missing from the City Garbage website. It still just simply says "..place bulky items (furniture) out on your regular garbage collection day." Of course if the biggest items could be recycled instead of thrown in a landfill, there would be huge potential to reduce our waste burden (environmental and cost).

November 1st happens to be the same day users will start paying for the new trash bins. Forking over cash directly to deal with waste will be a new concept for Torontonians might have to get used to. Fees are set to be levied on manufacturers of electronics in the province starting next spring, ranging from $5 to $15 depending on the type of item, to pay for proper recycling (about time!).

Spending time at high end oil or spice shops might not be the mandate of a typical graduate student, but I managed to find some real value while venturing inside two of Queen Street West's finer food retail shops.

The addition of The Olive Pit and The Spice Trader to our grocery section brings an inside look to two somewhat related specialty shops. They are located on top of each other (owned by the same family) and both play to the old adage "you get what you pay for".

What ever happened to the talk of a new approach to transit planning that takes into account the whole GTA region?

A report due this summer was expected to kickstart implementation of a plan. Unfortunately it has been delayed until the Fall. Delays happen, but this wasn't the first time, as it was originally expected in the Spring. July 25th was the second scheduled date the "Regional Transportation Plan" was to have been provided to the Metrolinx board. Now it's moved back to September 26th this year.

Metrolinx, (otherwise known as the Greater Toronto Transportation Authority) is the public authority set up to oversee the new approach to regional transit planning. Not surprisingly, it's been reported that the major holdup is due to reviewing of the funding aspect of the plan.

Photo: StarbuckGuy's photostream

Last night's storm brought the City closer to a new record high summer rainfall. We're now certain to surge past the 28-year old record of 1980 with rain in the forecast through to the weekend.

The previous record for the months of June and July was 271.5 mm. Surpassing this level, we are well above average rainfall levels for the region (last year over the whole summer we had 88 mm). Interestingly, back in 1980 a good chunk of the rainfall was in the last week of July!

As a resident of Little Italy, I just have to ask: what is a fine Italian dining location like Grappa thinking putting this eyesore of an advertisement on their storefront?

This Yellowpages zeppelin of an ad showed up a few weeks ago and leaves me scratching my head. How did Yellowpages possibly pitch this idea? They better be offering some serious compensation.

Fingers crossed that this is not part of a wider campaign to hit more spots in the city.

As the name implies, The Green Majority radio show aims to bridge the gap between polls that show Canadians want action on environmental issues and the political barriers to that happening. It's the "nation's first and only all-environmental newshour" and it airs live from here in Toronto at CIUT 89.5.

The show is produced and hosted by Jordan Poppenk, a UofT PhD Pyschology student who has been working on it in his spare time since 2005. He thinks his show is unique in that it "de-regionalizes" national environmental news by bringing to light stories from small communities you wouldn't otherwise be exposed to in the mainstream media. While each show covers Canadian and national headlines, there are also two 15-minute segments of "non-condensed" feature content, usually with an expert on an issue.