Footage of someone throwing garbage out the window of an apartment building onto the street during Toronto’s Pride parade is causing quite the stir online.
The video, which was shared to the r/toronto subreddit, shows occupants of a Yonge Street apartment hurling rubbish that narrowly misses pedestrians below during last Sunday’s parade.
Littering can be an issue at large gatherings like Pride, but the city says it has clean-up protocols in place to ensure garbage cans don’t overflow and the street is returned to normal after events.
“Street litter bins are available for use during the Pride parade and managed throughout the event. Following the event, the route is cleaned of litter on the streets and sidewalks and bins are emptied by the city immediately with the goal of reopening the road as soon as possible,” the city told Now Toronto in an email statement on Wednesday.
While some littler is inevitable, a torrent of garbage from above can be dangerous.
The video does not appear to depict any hate-motivated activity, in fact, the apartment in question shows window sills adorned with Pride flags.
Nonetheless, people online were quick to share their queries and theories about the trash throwing online.
“I noticed this apartment during pride because of the decorations around 3 pm and the people chilling in the window were cool and cheering during the parade. No idea who this guy is or at what time it was, looks like he’s drunk/high and being belligerent,” someone else suggested.
“I’m confused. The tenants seem very pro-pride, given the decorations on their dwelling. Yet they proceed to vandalize the parade area, and risk hurting the attendees,” one Reddit user wrote.
“Alcohol or other drugs could be involved, altering the person’s judgement,” another person suggested.
In response to the video, the city is reminding residents to refrain from littering anywhere in the city.
“No person shall place, dump or deposit or permit to be placed, dumped or deposited any quantity of waste on any land, not including buildings, within the city, including ponds, lakes and streams.”
The fine for littering and dumping is $500.
