City withdraws fine against Hamilton man who cleaned up garbage

The city has backpedaled on a decision to give a Hamilton man a ticket for cleaning up litter in the downtown alley next to his condo after a strong community backlash.

Ted Pudney, a video editor with the CBC in Toronto, moved to Hamilton from that cityabout three months ago. Tired of looking at the trash outside his building at 80 King William, he went out and spent nearly three hours cleaning it up himself. The garbage included broken glass, pop cans, tissues and needles.

An apology would be nice but not necessary.- Ted Pudney

But when he stacked the trash in a nearby alley for collection, a pair of city bylaw enforcement officers wrote him aticket for $125.

On Thursday afternoon, after angry calls from residents and a storm of negative attention onsocial media,the city withdrew the ticket.

"We were advised some of the garbage was from the alley way," said Jason Thorne, general manager of planning and economic development, in an email to councillors obtained by CBC Hamilton. "Upon review, the ticket is now being withdrawn."

Pudney said he's happy to hear that.

Hot spot for dumping

Pudney's story drew attention from a nearby doctor who volunteered to pay his fine, and from Chuck's Burger Bar, which offered him a $125 gift card.

The alley in question is on a city "hot list" of locations to monitor for illegal dumping, Thorne said in his email to council. The area draws an abundance of waste from nearby businesses, and "there is zero tolerance in that alleyway" for illegal dumping, he said.

The city's illegal dumping team has visited that alley more than 100 times over six months and removed more than 250 bags of illegally dumped waste, he said.

Pudney said the two bylaw enforcement officers approached himas he was cleaning the alley. He tried to tell them he was doing a good thing, he said, but they wrote a ticket anyway.

Hamilton's lower housing prices and cost of living drew him, he said. He likes the city otherwise.

"The city itself is trying to shed its reputation and is going through the revitalization process," he said. "That said, it would be a benefit to work together."

samantha.craggs@cbc.ca|@SamCraggsCBC