Posted on 07/13/2007 10:26:59 AM PDT by SubGeniusX
He's picking up 80 bags of trash a day in return for donations
TORONTO (Sun Media) - Marc the Litter Guy needed money to pay the rent but he didn't want to panhandle.
So the 30-year-old got some garbage bags and put a sign on his back saying he was cleaning the city for donations.
"I needed to make my own job, so I thought I'd go around and clean the streets. I wear a sign -- it tells what I'm doing and asks for donations -- but I don't ask for money verbally, I leave it up to people," said Marc, who has been picking up about 80 bags of garbage a day for the past 11 months.
Marc was struggling to get work as a day labourer and was tired of lining up at 4:30 a.m every day looking for a job that wasn't there.
"I can have crappy days where I don't make minimum wage, but some days I can make $10 an hour," he said.
Marc has some specific areas where he works, and it's not uncommon for businesses to donate garbage bags and give him a few bucks to clean up their areas.
Marc is talking to faculty at the University of Toronto about starting a pilot project, where panhandlers could meet at the university and then disperse with garbage bags to different locales.
"I just think this is a viable option for panhandlers and it is good for the city," he said.
It is commonplace for many panhandlers to stake out the same corner every day to beg for money.
"I think this guy has a great idea," said Robin MacDonald, a customer at Starbucks on King St. E.
"Here you have a guy who doesn't bother people and he gives back. I wouldn't mind giving my change to him."
In response to complaints about panhandlers, the city is looking into whether downtown beggars who are not homeless need help in making use of social programs.
The executive committee has met with restaurant and other business owners who are frustrated with panhandlers on downtown streets.
The committee unanimously voted to launch a pilot project -- from July 3 to Sept. 17 -- which will include meetings between senior officials and businesses to find ways of addressing the panhandling problem.
Carolyn
> He must have some mental issues.
Maybe not...
> What makes an able-bodied man go homeless.
I’ve met plenty of homeless folk who actually enjoy the lifestyle. As one explained to me:
“I have more freedom and liberty than you do. I have no debts, I have no mortgage, no family to feed, no lawns to mow, no boss, no income tax to pay because I don’t have any income! I don’t give a stuff what Helen Clark and her government think, say, or do. I never get stuck in rush-hour traffic. If it is a fine day out, I can enjoy the sunshine as much as I like, anywhere I like. If it is raining outside, I got several nice comfortable places set up all around the city...”
(Our Patrol had encountered this man — “Jim” — living under a bridge. He had knocked together a lean-to out of old Real Estate signs and Election hoardings, and had McGyvered a broken office chair and mattress together to sleep on. The far end of his lean-to was open, giving him a pleasant view across the river to where the ducks usually congregate. (his pets, perhaps? Or maybe the occasional lunch? Dunno).
“...If I’m hungry I can find something to eat 24x7 and it won’t cost me a cent! Can *you* do that???”
I had to admit, I couldn’t: every word of what he’d said was true. It was just from an unusual perspective. There was nothing mentally disturbed about this man. And he looked very able-bodied and “fit” in an extra lean sinew sort-of-way.
> How long before the IRS inquires into his earnings?
Never. He’s a Canadian living in Toronto.
Easier for him to say that in New Zealand. Canada is a bit colder in the winter.
> Canada is a bit colder in the winter.
I know a bit about Canada (born and raised in Vancouver).
I hope he's recycling aluminum cans. They are worth some money.
jerk, read the title of the article. and the line about paying rent is in the past tense.
Give this man a business.
alberta is a plenty expensive place to live.
Makes you wonder what the mines pay.
Of course, you’d likely need a large percentage of that $14 per hour just to pay for an apartment in Edomonton or Fort Mac, assuming you can find one.
One of the causes of homelessness, by the way, is city zoning regulations that have pretty much driven the rooming house out of existence. For a single person of limited means living in the city, these used to be an important source of low-cost housing. Sure, most people might prefer to have a space all of their own, although then again a rooming house might be good for the socializing and shared food preparation facilities.
Rubbish - I’ve seen highways that have signs saying they’ve been adopted by so and so all over Ontario, Quebec, NB and NS. Well, actually, I’m not sure I’ve seen them in Quebec, but the others, yes.
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