Changing of the trash guard: the pedal operated bin (right) replaces an older model (Image: Neil Ta, from the Torontolife.com Flickr pool)
When the city started rolling out its new streetside garbage cans four years ago, we were taken with them in a “huh, that’s new” kind of way. It didn’t take long for us to find that many of the bins had broken foot pedals that had to be forced open by hand, making the foot pedals a waste. Astral Media, which is providing the bins to the city as part of an advertising contract, has finally admitted that, yes, the bins have some serious engineering problems.
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It’s been three years since the mass cull of the Great Recession began.
When money’s tight, firms look for new revenue streams, so this story isn’t really all that big a deal—except that the “firm” in this case is the Toronto District School Board, and the “revenue stream” is a gateway drug to commercial advertising. The Toronto Star reports that the TDSB is looking at installing flat-screen TVs at some 70 schools. 
Dangerous Dan’s, Queen Street East’s unmissable hamburger joint, has never been known for moderation. It’s no surprise, then, that the diner’s latest ad campaign is a series of shock ads featuring shots of humongous burgers next to such slogans as “It’s 4:20 somewhere” and “While we still have health care.” The series is basically the marketing equivalent of the 
