Here is a great dilemma / competition. Living in Edmonton, Alberta, there is a competition between communities to have the best recycling and composting program. The best part is, the communities do not know that they have created a public campaign to improve the environment. One community in particular has created very strong support for their initiative, and citizens will gladly share their program ideas with others.
In recent years Strathcona County, and its main town of Sherwood Park, have added a blue box and a green box to their local garbage pickup. One bin for recycling, and one for compostables. Whenever Imention that a particular product is compostable to a Strathcona Country resident, they will gladly expound the virtuesof the diversion of waste that the bins create. Knowing this, I recommend even more items that can be diverted by their system. I think that most recycling programs out there are similar to what is going on in Strathcona County.
In Edmonton proper, there is a different take on how to get the most waste diverted from the landfill. They would have you throw it in the garbage. Yep, that’s right, put it in the big green bin out behind your residence. Now they do have blue bins for recycling, but that is not the interesting part. The interesting part is that whatever a resident puts in their residential garbage pickup gets sent to a facility to be sorted and diverted for them. This multi-million dollar facility covers 233 hectares and diverts %60 of all the material that goes into the garbage. That’s %60 of the material that city residents did not think to recycle, or are complex materials that are difficult for individuals to work with, all with out the residents knowledge. Alas, the City of Edmonton is not a great self promoter, so this wonder of environmental initiatives goes unnoticed by everyone, including it’s own residents.
Now which is better. Having a program that puts recycling and composting in the hands of the residents, having each one involved in the process. Or is having a community that is dedicated to waste diversion do the hard work themselves, without the direct interaction of the residents. I do not know, but this is the best kind of dilemma. Communities finding ways to divert waste, and choosing a better environment are always supported here at Seeing Change. Promote the recycling and composting programs in your area, more can be done when more know what exists.
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