Capital Remodeling Environment News

By Dave Brummet

There is nothing worse than seeing garbage blowing down the street of your neighborhood, or finding broken shards of glass at the local swimming hole where children play. Wildlife is just as vulnerable to garbage and many have lost their lives after becoming tangled in waste or mistaking garbage for food. It is up to each of us to make an effort to minimize this unsightly, and sometimes hazardous, problem.

Animals, wind and traffic breezes put legs to loose garbage and are able to distribute it great distances from the original source. The first thing that we can do to prevent this is to ensure trashcan and dumpster lids are secure. Metal and plastic trashcans are more preventative than bags - leaving a bag out over night or even for several hours, is an enticing invitation for stray animals to wreak havoc. When taking a load to the dump, be sure that it is securely covered by tightly tying a tarp over the load with some rope or bungee cords.

Carry plastic shopping bags on your walks to clean up litter that you find along the way. Often, people are rewarded for their efforts by the deposits returned from bottles and cans. Those who have noticed your efforts will begin taking up the same habit once they realize the impact it has.

Report any dumping you witness, whether it was done illegally or accidentally - just get the license number and leave the rest to the officials. Also, report any site where garbage has been left by others. These problems can be reported to the local city, highway, public works or conservation office. Ask them to arrange for it to be cleaned up.

By doing these relatively small actions, we prevent contamination and injuries to people or wildlife in the area. When separating recyclable items, we keep a valuable resource out of the landfill. In addition, we maintain a pristine environment for citizens, tourists and wildlife to enjoy.

By Dave Brummet

How can we, as individuals, participate in waste management? Because some of us are so overwhelmed with Earth’s problems, we feel that our contributions have no real consequence in the end. For others, social barriers can be an issue. A lady we once knew confessed that she did not want to be seen buying used items or being concerned with power use. She was worried people would see her as cheap - a scrooge - when the family was so affluent. Yet, she was very careful to be seen with recycling bins out on the curb on pick-up day, because that was thought to be the thing to do socially. Now is a good time to put an end to these negative thoughts and feelings of false pride. Waste reduction is not about ego - it is about the health of the planet and of our nation.

Communities would be wise to look at Nova Scotia’s waste reduction success and try to emulate it in their area. With the highest waste reduction rates in Canada, Nova Scotia has reduced landfill contributions by 46% - saving about $31 million per year - simply by making the most of the organic and recyclable materials. Curbside recycling service (Blue Box) is available to 99% of its residents and 76% now enjoy curbside organic service (a.k.a. Green Box).

With better management of organic and recyclable waste, we will find we do not have to put the trash out as often because the odors and volume are greatly decreased. As a fiscal incentive, many garbage collection companies offer discounts to homes with reduced waste.

We can also help the waste management industry run more efficiently. For instance, when only full garbage bags and Blue or Green boxes are put out on the curb, the garbage truck does not have to stop as often and burn fossil fuels inefficiently while idling. (Incidentally, vehicle idling is responsible for 3% of the air pollution problem.) Similarly, by collapsing boxes before recycling we are ensuring that space is used more efficiently, thereby reducing the number of bins needed for transporting materials.