Article content

Montreal’s Sud-Ouest borough is trying hot pink public shaming to deter residents who dump garbage on the street or fail to pick up after their dogs. And it’s calling on citizens to join in.

We apologize, but this video has failed to load.

tap here to see other videos from our team. Try refreshing your browser, or Sud-Ouest trash violators to be publicly shamed — in hot pink Back to video

The borough will post large pink arrows mounted on posts pointing at garbage bags found on the street on non-pickup days, with the message “Your garbage bothers me” (“Tes vidanges me dérangent”) and noting that fines range from $75 to $2,500 for repeat offenders. Stickers with the same message will be affixed to bags, the borough announced Thursday. Hundreds of the stickers will be made available for citizens to slap on offending trash bags as well.

Next to dog droppings, signs reading “Shit! Pick it up” (“Merde! Ramasse-toi!”) will be placed on small posts.

Garbage dumped on the street and failure to pick up after one’s dogs, particularly in parks where children play or on sidewalks, are the top cleanliness complaints of citizens in the densely packed borough with a population of 72,000. Previous communications efforts have been too “apple-pie nice” said councillor Craig Sauvé, appealing mainly to the type of people who already follow the rules. The borough wanted a more aggressive tone to get the attention of guilty parties.