Since leaving Calgary in September 2008 to study at Royal Roads University, I have felt, in general, confused about the City of Calgary's perspective on garbage and recycling when comparing it to the system Victoria uses.
Prior to moving to Victoria, I had absolutely no idea that blue-bin recycling pick up was free and collected on a bi-weekly basis. Not only is it free, but you don't even have to sort your recyclables. All you have to do is make sure you only place items that can be recycle into the bin. If you accidently put something in there that doesn't belong, the pick up will simply leave the item in your bin for you to dispose of by other means. I have now learnt that not only is recycling free and convienient, if one wants curb side garbage pick up, they have to pay for it. If you don't want curb side garbage pick up, you are responsible for taking your garbage to the landfill yourself, and paying the fee per weight of garbage. Now, I don't know how much truth there is to this, but I heard/was told somewhere that if you are caught putting paper products such as cardboard into the landfill, you have to pay a large monetary fee.
Talk about incentive to recycle as much as you can. I haven't heard of many people that enjoy spending both time and money, when it could be free and convienient. Who doesn't like saving money? This system just makes so much sense.
The reason why I am so overwhelmed and confused is because in Calgary, it is the exact opposite way.
The Calgarian way: curb side garbage pick up is free and done on a weekly basis. The big truck comes around once a week, and hauls your garbage away for you. All you have to do is move it from under your kitchen sink to your curb. Where I lived, this consisted of approximately 30 feet. Very, very convienent, and cost effective compared to Victoria's system of garbage removal.
However, to have curb side recycling for your residence is quite a different process. It is expensive, and extremely uncommon. If you want curb side recycling pick up, you ha
ve to arrange it with the City of Calgary and pay a monetary fee. If you decide you don't want to pay in money, but you want to recycle, you are paying in time and convienience. Large recycling bins are placed at specific locations, eg: in the parking lot of a mall, grocery store (such as Safeway), etc. If you want to recycle, you are solely responsible for sorting your recyclables and transporting them to the recycling bins. Generally, you are paying in fuel (unless you take alternative transportation such as walking) to transport your recyclables to the bins, and in time. But, maybe I should look on the bright side. Although it isn't as fabulous as Victoria's system, at least there is a program available to recycle in Calgary.
In my opinion, the Calgarian method screams: "I BELONG IN THE GARBAGE" to any recyclables you may have. Why would I waste my time and money recycling when it is free and more convienient to throw it in the garbage so it can end up in a landfill? Especially Calgary being the growing city it is, there are lots of very busy professionals that would most likely take the easy, convienient route, vs. an expensive, time consuming route.
Why doesn't the City of Calgary reverse the curb side roles it has? The City of Calgary should adopt the Victoria way. Charge for curb side garbage removal. Charge for landfilling on a weight basis. This also encourages people to compost. By composting, garbage doesn't stink, and takes a lot longer to fill a bag. Since I have began composting, it takes about a month for my garbage to fill up. Everything that can go in the recycling does. Curb side blue-bin recycling should be free and encouraged. If people are too busy to make the more sustainable decision, someone needs to make it for them. By adopting the Victoria garbage/recycling removal, all Calgarians have to do is learn what can be recycled. Once they have to pay for throwing recyclables in the garbage, there will be incentive to commit to recycling!
Fitting this in with today's class discussion on communities, community involvement in a program such as this might prove to be difficult to develop if people are still given the option of free and convienient garbage removal, as this is what people are familiar with. I believe in order to elict change in the community of the City of Calgary with regards to recycling and garbage disposal on a large scale, the city would practically have to do it for it's citizens. This is the only way you can ensure citizen participation. Once people realize they will be paying to continue their old, bad habits of trashing recyclables, change will be more likely to occur in the direction of creating a greener city with less compostables and recyclables in the landfills.
There you have it, my recycling ramblings.
Prior to moving to Victoria, I had absolutely no idea that blue-bin recycling pick up was free and collected on a bi-weekly basis. Not only is it free, but you don't even have to sort your recyclables. All you have to do is make sure you only place items that can be recycle into the bin. If you accidently put something in there that doesn't belong, the pick up will simply leave the item in your bin for you to dispose of by other means. I have now learnt that not only is recycling free and convienient, if one wants curb side garbage pick up, they have to pay for it. If you don't want curb side garbage pick up, you are responsible for taking your garbage to the landfill yourself, and paying the fee per weight of garbage. Now, I don't know how much truth there is to this, but I heard/was told somewhere that if you are caught putting paper products such as cardboard into the landfill, you have to pay a large monetary fee.
Talk about incentive to recycle as much as you can. I haven't heard of many people that enjoy spending both time and money, when it could be free and convienient. Who doesn't like saving money? This system just makes so much sense.
The reason why I am so overwhelmed and confused is because in Calgary, it is the exact opposite way.
The Calgarian way: curb side garbage pick up is free and done on a weekly basis. The big truck comes around once a week, and hauls your garbage away for you. All you have to do is move it from under your kitchen sink to your curb. Where I lived, this consisted of approximately 30 feet. Very, very convienent, and cost effective compared to Victoria's system of garbage removal.
However, to have curb side recycling for your residence is quite a different process. It is expensive, and extremely uncommon. If you want curb side recycling pick up, you ha
ve to arrange it with the City of Calgary and pay a monetary fee. If you decide you don't want to pay in money, but you want to recycle, you are paying in time and convienience. Large recycling bins are placed at specific locations, eg: in the parking lot of a mall, grocery store (such as Safeway), etc. If you want to recycle, you are solely responsible for sorting your recyclables and transporting them to the recycling bins. Generally, you are paying in fuel (unless you take alternative transportation such as walking) to transport your recyclables to the bins, and in time. But, maybe I should look on the bright side. Although it isn't as fabulous as Victoria's system, at least there is a program available to recycle in Calgary.In my opinion, the Calgarian method screams: "I BELONG IN THE GARBAGE" to any recyclables you may have. Why would I waste my time and money recycling when it is free and more convienient to throw it in the garbage so it can end up in a landfill? Especially Calgary being the growing city it is, there are lots of very busy professionals that would most likely take the easy, convienient route, vs. an expensive, time consuming route.
Why doesn't the City of Calgary reverse the curb side roles it has? The City of Calgary should adopt the Victoria way. Charge for curb side garbage removal. Charge for landfilling on a weight basis. This also encourages people to compost. By composting, garbage doesn't stink, and takes a lot longer to fill a bag. Since I have began composting, it takes about a month for my garbage to fill up. Everything that can go in the recycling does. Curb side blue-bin recycling should be free and encouraged. If people are too busy to make the more sustainable decision, someone needs to make it for them. By adopting the Victoria garbage/recycling removal, all Calgarians have to do is learn what can be recycled. Once they have to pay for throwing recyclables in the garbage, there will be incentive to commit to recycling!
Fitting this in with today's class discussion on communities, community involvement in a program such as this might prove to be difficult to develop if people are still given the option of free and convienient garbage removal, as this is what people are familiar with. I believe in order to elict change in the community of the City of Calgary with regards to recycling and garbage disposal on a large scale, the city would practically have to do it for it's citizens. This is the only way you can ensure citizen participation. Once people realize they will be paying to continue their old, bad habits of trashing recyclables, change will be more likely to occur in the direction of creating a greener city with less compostables and recyclables in the landfills.
There you have it, my recycling ramblings.
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