On Thursday afternoon, the union instituted a minimum 15-minute wait time and three-bag limit per vehicle at dumpsites across the city.

However, the union's hardball approach has sparked mutiny among its members. The Star visited eight dumpsites and transfer stations across Toronto yesterday. Strikers were forcing residents to wait at only three locations.

"The higher-ups want us to be more rigorous, but our fight isn't with these people," one picket captain said.

Another captain called the protocols frustrating.

"It's stupid. One minute they tell us they want to get the public on our side, then they turn and do this," he said. "We have people who are 75, 80 years old in the line. These are my parents, my grandparents. I don't want them waiting."

The picketers asked that their names and locations not be used for fear of reprisal from the Canadian Union of Public Employees, Locals 79 and 416, which represent roughly 30,000 civic workers on strike.

Several pickets said they only institute the restrictions when union supervisors are on site.

"When we do it, we just see tempers grow. It's not worth it," a striking employee said.