Putting trash out to the curb is not rocket science, but doing it right seems to be a challenge for some people.

We went looking for a fire hydrant last week that was crushed by a car on St. Clair Ave. It was fixed when we arrived – which happens more often than you’d think – but we found another problem no less worthy of our attention.

An enormous pile of garbage had been left on the boulevard on the north side of St. Clair, west of Brimley Rd., by someone who clearly didn’t know the rules, or thought they applied to somebody else.

It was as if a giant hand had picked up a one-bedroom apartment and shook it until everything tumbled out the door and onto the street, leaving a pile of trash strewn between the curb and sidewalk.

It was so impressively disgusting that we couldn’t look away as we drove past. So we turned around, and not just out of grisly fascination, but because we knew it violated almost every rule about putting garbage out for collection.

A closer inspection revealed torn-open bags of rice on the grass – perfect for attracting rats and mice – along with other foodstuffs that should have gone into a green bin for compostable organics.

A dog-eared couch and matching chair made of faux leather was surrounded by clothes, curtains and kids toys, as well as books and papers that looked like a child’s uncompleted homework.

It amounted to a middle-fingered salute to the city’s rules and regulations on how and when to put out trash, so we shot photos and sent some to solid waste management services, along with a simple question: What’s wrong with this picture?

STATUS: A spokesperson for solid waste emailed to say “the boulevard has been cleared and a notice of violation has been issued to the homeowner by Municipal Licensing and Standards.” The email identified many violations, including: “items not in (green, grey or blue) bins; - items not sorted into recycling and garbage; (cardboard) boxes not broken down; items must be out on the correct collection day; - recycling and garbage should not be out on the same day (recycling and organics are picked up one week and garbage and organics the next week); the City does pick up oversized items on garbage collection day, however the desk in the picture would need to be broken down into more manageable-sized pieces.” A waste collection calendar is delivered to every home in the city, which provides pickup dates for all types of trash and precise details on how and when to put out just about anything. The information is also online at www.toronto.ca/recycle. It’s essential reading for everyone.