Monday, February 2, 2009

Living With Garbage

Vancouver city workers went on strike for 3 months. Services including the issuing of city permits, public libraries, city daycare centers, YMCA facilities, park maintenance, and, most noticeably, trash pick-up were all suspended during this period. Management personnel were able to perform certain duties deemed critical to civic survival (including, parking meter enforcement much to the irritation of Vancouverites), but the public was generally expected to get by without services that most had taken for granted.

Vancouver is renowned as a clean, modern city. Its coastal location, hydro-generated electricity, and clean-air initiatives help to keep its air quality among the best of North American cities. Glacier-fed water reservoirs ensure a clean, natural source of water. And a blend of public and private waste management services generally keeps the city free of trash. However, during the three-month strike, piles of garbage (regular trash, yard waste, and household recycling) were both unsightly and a public health concern.

But the situation was not as bad as it could have been. The city endured a strike of similar duration five years ago and people learned valuable lessons that ameliorated the severity of the more recent strike. During the intervening years, several things occurred:
  • recycling rates increased, removing a lot of renewable materials from the waste stream (5 to 10 cent bottle return fees encourage recycling of beverage containers)
  • a city initiative to encourage composting (the city provides a 50% subsidy for the cost of home composters) removed much organic refuse from both kitchen and yard work from the waste stream.
  • Vancouver citizens learned to shop more responsibly, avoiding products with bulky packaging, reusing shopping bags, and giving reusable things away rather than putting them in garbage bins.

The garbage strike did provide ample opportunity for analysis of garbage bin contents (in the same way that you get to know houseguests all too well when their stay extends into weeks and months). Vancouverite's love of take-out sushi and Chinese food was tempered by consideration of the myriad food containers that would require disposal. People deferred the purchase of items once considered necessities over concern of what to do with the packaging and any items being replaced. Relegating food waste to composters greatly reduced the stench coming from the bulging garbage bins. And although the city was not collecting from recycling bins, diligent separation of recyclable materials freed up valuable space in the overloaded garbage bins.


Another bright side to the strike was that it promoted camaraderie among citizens, in the same way that any adversity draws together those people suffering its consequences. Neighbors collaborated on garbage strategies, swapping space in garbage bins for space in yard waste containers, or encouraging others to contribute to their composters. Shopkeepers congratulated people for reusing shopping bags from home. People rummaging through recycle bins to collect bottles to exchange for cash were no longer intruders but welcome entrepreneurs.


It is encouraging that so many Americans are taking steps to reduce their portion of their community's waste stream without having to endure a garbage strike. Less garbage means reduced landfill space requirements, less water pollution associated with groundwater seepage from landfills, and decreased air pollution from the burning of garbage. Composting of kitchen and yard waste generates organic fertilizer for gardening. Recycling, in addition to less waste, means less mining and associated pollution. Citizens adopting these everyday habits serve their community and the planet well, and should there be any disruption to garbage service, make everyday living that much better!

Visit our website at www.DwellSmart.com

No comments: