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Bad riddance of good rubbish?
Apr. 9th, 2012 01:33 pmAccording to an article in today's Citizen, the City of Ottawa is only managing to collect about 2/3 as much green-bin recyclables as it is paying for. The author seemed to think that that means a lot of green bins lying fallow because the households they belong to are not separating their waste properly. I'm not so sure that's the case.
For one thing, many households undoubtedly do their own composting. We do, although we still put out a few things that would take longer to decompose in a small household unit - like pizza boxes and paper towels - or which we worry might pose a health hazard - used tissues, kitty litter, etc.
Beginning in November, the City of Ottawa will only collect garbage every other week, while the green bin collection will remain weekly (instead of reverting to biweekly as it used to do for the winter months). Okay, so we've had the stick. Now how about the carrot? Maybe they could catch fewer flies with honey than with vinegar, to use a dreadful mixed metaphor. Here are a few ideas they might consider.
1. EXPAND THE LIST OF ITEMS WE CAN RECYCLE - Before Ottawa became one big supercity, they used to let you put out used clothing in an ordinary garbage back tied with a scrap of cloth so its contents were apparent. The city would sort through these bags, donating the better items and recycling the rest for rags. Yes, there are charities which will pick up these items, but my experience with them has been less than positive. For example, one day when the charity was supposedly going to be in our area, I put out a bag in the manner prescribed, only to find out at the end of the day that it had not been collected. When I phoned the next day to inform the charity of the situation, I asked that they just let me know when they would next be in the area - at which point they got quite belligerent and said they wanted to pick it up THAT VERY DAY! Why were they in such a rush all of a sudden? Needless to say, if we had not been there to take back the uncollected bag, there would have been a security concern as well: potentially advertising to prospective break-in artists that no one was home!
Clothing is just one example. They also used to pick up used plastic bags, for example. I see no reason why they can't pick up diapers and feminine hygiene products, especially as kitty litter is accepted. And just how do they distinguish between cat waste (accepted) and dog waste (not accepted)? The mind boggles!
2. INSTEAD OF ONE-DAY HAZARDOUS WASTE DEPOTS, HAVE DOOR-TO-DOOR SERVICE
That way, if you're an environmentally responsible person who doesn't operate a car, you could also dispose of hazardous waste in an environmentally responsible manner on a regular basis instead of having to rely on someone with a vehicle. There would also be fewer vehicles on the road doing the transporting to often far-flung waste depots and that in itself means less gasoline used, fewer emissions, less time wasted, less private expense of the vehicle owner, greater compliance and less illegal dumping... and so on. Surely a win-win-win... situation!
3. HAVE JUST ONE BIN FOR MIXED RECYCLABLES; LET THE CONTRACTOR DO THE SORTING
They do that already in Gatineau. The recyclers can then take whatever they can use and the City doesn't have to put together a ridiculously convoluted calendar of different collection weeks for differently-coloured boxes. Plus, the simpler it is, the better residents will understand it and the higher the level of compliance.
4. EASE UP ON POINTLESS BUREAUCRATIC RULES
You mustn't set out your garbage before 6 PM the evening before collection. Nor must it be after 7 AM (even, presumably, if it never gets collected before 4 PM). Containers must be removed from the curbside by 10 PM on collection day. Then we have all the restrictions on the containers themselves. For instance, it's technically against the law to have the lid attached to the container by a cord. Whoever put that clause into the Bylaw has obviously never had to stop the car to move lids that blow all over the road on a windy day!
I may have left school long ago but I still struggle with the 3 R's!!
For one thing, many households undoubtedly do their own composting. We do, although we still put out a few things that would take longer to decompose in a small household unit - like pizza boxes and paper towels - or which we worry might pose a health hazard - used tissues, kitty litter, etc.
Beginning in November, the City of Ottawa will only collect garbage every other week, while the green bin collection will remain weekly (instead of reverting to biweekly as it used to do for the winter months). Okay, so we've had the stick. Now how about the carrot? Maybe they could catch fewer flies with honey than with vinegar, to use a dreadful mixed metaphor. Here are a few ideas they might consider.
1. EXPAND THE LIST OF ITEMS WE CAN RECYCLE - Before Ottawa became one big supercity, they used to let you put out used clothing in an ordinary garbage back tied with a scrap of cloth so its contents were apparent. The city would sort through these bags, donating the better items and recycling the rest for rags. Yes, there are charities which will pick up these items, but my experience with them has been less than positive. For example, one day when the charity was supposedly going to be in our area, I put out a bag in the manner prescribed, only to find out at the end of the day that it had not been collected. When I phoned the next day to inform the charity of the situation, I asked that they just let me know when they would next be in the area - at which point they got quite belligerent and said they wanted to pick it up THAT VERY DAY! Why were they in such a rush all of a sudden? Needless to say, if we had not been there to take back the uncollected bag, there would have been a security concern as well: potentially advertising to prospective break-in artists that no one was home!
Clothing is just one example. They also used to pick up used plastic bags, for example. I see no reason why they can't pick up diapers and feminine hygiene products, especially as kitty litter is accepted. And just how do they distinguish between cat waste (accepted) and dog waste (not accepted)? The mind boggles!
2. INSTEAD OF ONE-DAY HAZARDOUS WASTE DEPOTS, HAVE DOOR-TO-DOOR SERVICE
That way, if you're an environmentally responsible person who doesn't operate a car, you could also dispose of hazardous waste in an environmentally responsible manner on a regular basis instead of having to rely on someone with a vehicle. There would also be fewer vehicles on the road doing the transporting to often far-flung waste depots and that in itself means less gasoline used, fewer emissions, less time wasted, less private expense of the vehicle owner, greater compliance and less illegal dumping... and so on. Surely a win-win-win... situation!
3. HAVE JUST ONE BIN FOR MIXED RECYCLABLES; LET THE CONTRACTOR DO THE SORTING
They do that already in Gatineau. The recyclers can then take whatever they can use and the City doesn't have to put together a ridiculously convoluted calendar of different collection weeks for differently-coloured boxes. Plus, the simpler it is, the better residents will understand it and the higher the level of compliance.
4. EASE UP ON POINTLESS BUREAUCRATIC RULES
You mustn't set out your garbage before 6 PM the evening before collection. Nor must it be after 7 AM (even, presumably, if it never gets collected before 4 PM). Containers must be removed from the curbside by 10 PM on collection day. Then we have all the restrictions on the containers themselves. For instance, it's technically against the law to have the lid attached to the container by a cord. Whoever put that clause into the Bylaw has obviously never had to stop the car to move lids that blow all over the road on a windy day!
I may have left school long ago but I still struggle with the 3 R's!!
