The unannounced Tidy Bin: I have thoughts

Yesterday, a Tidy Bin showed up in the visitor parking, without any notice to owners. I checked the interior of it and at the time it had some material in the far end of it that clearly was in the bin when it was delivered, mostly consisting of wet cardboard and some flat pieces of wood. Someone had placed what looked like an upright vacuum cleaner or carpet cleaner right inside the door.

The entire floor of the bin was wet and covered in a mix of small rocks and some unknown but very stinky material, reminiscent of manure or sewage. It is clearly not sanitary. I would strongly advise everyone to not enter the bin.

If you pull the door open and let go, the placement of the bin is such that the door will close until there is only a small gap, meaning anyone wanting to put in larger items would need someone else to hold the door open or use their body to keep it open.

There is no signage on the bin saying what can be disposed of and more importantly, what can’t.

The bin is covering one of the three accessible parking stalls in the visitor parking.

Since the bin must be discussed and approved by a majority of council, then ordered by the strata manager, it is unclear to me why no notice was given of its arrival. This is table stakes. In fact, the same council did manage to post notices when the last Tidy bin was here in July 2025–so why not this time?

The shot below shows two things: apparently someone thought it was a good idea to park beside a giant garbage bin (it is not)–if the door is swung all the way open, it would strike the side of the car. This also shows how large the gap is with the door open, hardly enough room to get items in. Not that I’m recommending the door be kept open, given the stench.

Per the last council meeting, apparently council was going to get a bin in between Christmas and New Year’s, to complement the one that’s usually here in the spring, but for whatever reason, that never happened. And it seems somehow a majority of council was convinced to go ahead and get a bin in early February, instead of just holding off for the usual spring bin–and then told no one who might use the bin that it was arriving.

This is a failure all around.

My recommendation: Tell Tidy Bin the bin is in unacceptable condition, have them remove it, then get a refund. Order a bin in the spring and give owners and residents proper notice.

I have no confidence the above will happen.

The bin, as of 10:30 a.m. February 6:

AGM 2026 and council election – early February update

A reminder that the next AGM is on Tuesday, March 31, 2026. Although not officially announced yet, the date was confirmed at the last council meeting. If anything changes, I will update here.

All owners, tenants and guests are welcome to attend the AGM. It is typically held at the Sapperton Community Hall on Keary Street, with a start time of 7 pm. Unfortunately, the hall is one of many places that has chosen to put their information on Facebook instead of having an independent website, so I won’t be linking it here.

Over the next few weeks, I will be providing my take on the past year under a largely new council, covering what they have accomplished and what they have not. I’ll highlight what I feel are the most important issues facing Copperstone, then provide my advice to anyone considering running for strata council, as well as recommendations on who to vote for, and why.

Stay tuned.

Potluck party 2025: Food, fun and sun

On a perfectly pleasant mid-July afternoon, several dozen members of Copperstone’s community gathered for the second annual potluck party in the Heritage courtyard. An array of dishes was on hand, everything from classics like hot dogs and burgers, to rice, ambrosia salad and watermelon cookies (and actual watermelon, too).

Thanks to council for organizing and for the four council members who were available to attend (summer is always tricky with vacations). And a big thanks to the owners and tenants who came and provided goodies, games and conversation.

Goodbye, Tidy Bin, we hardly knew ye!

The Tidy Bin arrived on July 18th and was picked up and hauled away today, July 21st.

On Saturday, July 19th, council members Jeff and Ben (along with assists from a few others) spent a large part of the day breaking items down and compacting everything to fit in more tightly. This made it easier for people to add more items and it also meant that we never needed a second bin, which is kind of amazing if you remember bins of the past.

When picking up the bin, the Tidy Bin guy apparently remarked that he had never seen a bin so neatly arranged before. A big thanks to the council members for getting the bin and then making sure it was handled so efficiently.

The following shot was taken on Sunday around 3:30 p.m., still showing plenty of room to spare.