The green bin is finally becoming habit. Don't kill it now
Agnes Cadieux, Ottawa Citizen
Published on: October 17, 2014, Last Updated: October 17, 2014 12:23 PM EDT
I live in a disposable society. Unfortunately, so do you.
In the fast-paced world of double incomes, extracurricular activities and suburban commutes, there is no time left to stop and do things “from scratch” anymore.
For the sake of our sanity we opt for individually wrapped snacks and ready-cut produce; single-use toiletries, cleaning products, and whatever other disposable you-name-its are out there to make our lives less hectic. But it all piles up and soon we find ourselves taking out the trash more often than before.
The industrial and commercial sector bears a large share of the blame. The planned expansion of the closed Carp Road landfill, for example, is expected to take the bulk of its waste from that sector.
Statistically speaking, people are trying.
Still, of the 860,000 tonnes of garbage generated by the Ottawa area, 30 to 40 per cent falls into the “residential.” category. Even though we would like to think that we are doing our part to reduce, reuse and recycle, Canada’s waste diversion efforts are abysmal. According to the Conference Board of Canada, in 2009 Canada ranked last out of 17 countries assessed for waste production, receiving an embarrassing “D” grade in municipal waste generation. We produced even more waste per capita than the United States and Switzerland, and twice as much trash as A-grade recipients Japan and Norway.
It’s bad.
But it doesn’t mean we’re a nation of litter bugs. Statistically speaking, people are trying.
When the green bin program was rolled out in 2009, it was not welcomed with open arms by most residents, but suffering eventually turned into habit, and in 2010, the city diverted 53,000 tonnes of organic waste from the landfills.
Four years later, that number grew to 69,000 tonnes. If leaf and yard waste is included, that number jumps to 83,000 tonnes, surpassing the annual quota negotiated between the city and Orgaworld by 3,000 tonnes. And “regular” recycling is on the rise as well. In 2013, Ottawa collected more than 40,000 tonnes from residential black boxes and more than 18,000 tonnes from residential blue boxes.
It’s evident that the culture of the consumer is shifting. We are realizing that anything we throw out has to go somewhere. If we don’t do something about our waste practices now, it is going to catch up with us.
Even the City of Ottawa knows this. Since 2006 Ottawa’s projected waste diversion goals have been 60 per cent; we just recently passed the 50 per cent mark for residential garbage. But depending on the outcome of October’s municipal election, the city may choose to cut its 20-year contract with Orgaworld and re-classify all things compostable as “garbage” once again.
If the compost program stops, that’s tens of thousands of tonnes of waste heading back to the dump, at a cost of tens of millions of dollars in penalties for breaking the contract, and another $4 million to reinstate weekly garbage pickup – costs that will inevitably be passed on to the taxpayer.
People are finally beginning to turn these waste-reduction habits into a regular part of life, and instead of enforcing it, many candidates (including the “property owners slate”) are telling us that getting out of a flawed contract is far more important than finding ways to address the city’s diversion goal, which we haven’t yet met but now seems to be in grasp. Many people may not like the green bin, but people don’t like having a new landfill in their backyard, either.
Canada’s “D” grade was shaped by a team effort of short-term agendas and near-sighted tactics by municipalities and governments from coast to coast, and until those tactics are projected beyond the electoral term, a”D” is all we’re ever going to achieve.
Agnes Cadieux is an Ottawa writer and student in biological science at the University of Ottawa.
http://ottawacitizen.com/news/local-news...-finally-becoming-habit-dont-kill-it-now
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