When slimy operators start using old freight trailers as a way to get rid of junk, it takes illegal dumping to a pernicious new level.

Somebody is always trying to get a leg up on the system — not necessarily a bad thing — unless it involves a clever twist on illegal dumping by hiding the trash in plain sight.

That’s what happened on Flint Rd., an industrial area near Dufferin and Finch Aves., where a trailer filled with junk was hauled months ago and dropped at the curb, like many legitimate trailers parked on the same street.

A reader who asked not to be named first sent us a note about it in mid-June, saying he had already made two requests to 311 to have it taken away.

“This trailer was dumped here weeks ago and has since been shunted by local truckers out of their way and into the bike path,” he said, referring to a paved cycling trail that runs along a hydro corridor.

He included photos of the cargo trailer, one of which showed its rear door closed, while another showed the door partly open, with some of the junk spilling out of it.

We went there and found it at the very south end of Flint Rd., where even more junk than the reader’s photo showed is outside of it and encroaching the bike trail.

The reader who reported it to us scrawled a note in black marker on the trailer that sums up his frustration: “An example of one person’s selfishness and the city’s indifference. 311 my ass. They were called 3 times in the last month!”

There’s no licence plate on it or anything to identify an owner. Trailers that are no longer road-worthy are often rented or sold for peanuts to be used for storage, which may have been the case here.

The trailer is parked on the street, which makes it the city’s responsibility. It is similar to many other trailers parked on Flint to serve the small industries, so it blends in and doesn’t raise eyebrows.

It reminded us of a cute scam we wrote about in the mid-1990s. A guy would make the rounds of auto repair shops, offering to take away scrap tires for five bucks apiece. He’d rent an old trailer for storage, fill it with tires, then dump it and walk away from the rental bill.

Status

Kam Ma, acting manager of right-of-way management in North York, emailed to say his staff is looking into it and will make a decision on what to do with the trailer.

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