Think Outside the Bin
Oct 28, 2009
No Comments
I’ve been to most large North American cities, and I have to say Ottawa has one of the more impressive recycling programs. The city of Ottawa is hard on its citizens: according to its data, Ottawa residents are in the middle of the pack, behind Halifax and Edmonton but ahead of Calgary and Montreal. Here’s where I give Ottawa high marks:
- Recycling bins throughout the city, often on street corners at a much higher extent than what I’ve seen in other municipalities.
- A requirement that citizens place yard waste in compostable bags. Soon, all Ottawa residents can add food scraps to their yard waste.
- The city’s recycling web site is easy to follow and clearly explains what goes where.
- A giveaway weekend, where residents can put out unwanted items from books to furniture, making it clear they are free—the next giveaway weekend now, October 24 and 25!
- Comingled recycling using black and blue boxes, which is sorted at the city’s trash sorting site.
Here are some improvements I’d like to see:
- I found Ottawa’s roadside garbage pickup confusing. Many residents placed recycling in garbage bins, or lumped cardboard together, which seems logical . . . unless the materials are not being placed in the right trucks. Also, there are no city-issued garbage cans, which I find makes sorting garbage easier. Finally, residents place piles of recyclables and garbage on the curb—and sometimes see that not everything is picked up!
- The city wants folks to return alcoholic beverage containers to the state-run liquor stores, claiming this would save the city CA$600,000 in sorting costs, but I didn’t see anyone return their bottles to the stores—perhaps a higher deposit charge would prod residents into doing so.
- No chip bags? Surely all those poutine-stained bags could be put to some use!
- Find a market for plastic bags and Styrofoam—even LA accepts those in its recycling! Thankfully, many grocery chains in Ottawa charge for plastic bags.
Finally, I’d like to see new metrics as to how Ottawa is doing compared to other cities. Based on what I observed, the city and its residents are doing a solid job.
What works with the recycling program in your community? What gripes do you have?
