I am excited for the Curbside Recycling program coming into Humboldt this month, mostly because of the way it promotes recycling.
Based on data from previous cities who have gone to curbside, many saw increases to the amount people recycled just because it is so much easier to do so.
With the single stream system coming in, there is no need to sort the majority of your recyclables, excluding glass since this is a hazard to workers doing the pick ups.
I go to a lot of conferences where hundreds of people are fed at a time.
While I know there is a cost of time and energy associated with it, I thank everyone who avoids plastic utensils and Styrofoam plates.
Yes, it is less labour intensive to throw things out and I still see some people using them for their banquets.
However, whatever plastic gets thrown away today will just have to be dealt with tomorrow.
And tomorrow means something to REACT.
Plastic creates a ton of waste, something which I know REACT wants to avoid especially since they will be decommissioning the Humboldt landfill and constructing a new one. Plastic waste means the landfill fills up quicker and plastic is slower to biodegrade.
More plastic recycled means a slower filling landfill.
When I do go to a conference that is using plastic, I do not consider all hope as lost.
I am seeing organizers taking plastic into consideration, composting leftover food, and sorting and recycling through what plastic there is.
I am also seeing people make the switch to biodegradable plastics and paper plates which biodegrade faster.
This is catching on which I am very happy to see.
Reusable water bottles are another thing that schools and businesses are trying to promote instead of having disposable cups or plastic water bottles.
More and more schools are putting in bottle filling stations at their water fountains which definitely helps support their use.
Even the different kinds of water bottles are becoming more vast, from metal to treated wood, so we are still getting away from plastic reusable bottles.
Getting more people recycling or making more environmentally conscience consumer choices is as simple as asking the question.
Spending time at Horizon School Division’s Student Day, I got discussing the issue with Director of Education Kevin Garinger.
It was a simple matter of asking why Horizon was still using plastic cutlery, cups, and plates.
To that it was basically an I do not know why we are not.
By simply asking the question, hopefully the ball is rolling at Horizon School Division towards more environmentally friendly choices.
By having that discussion here, I hope the ball gets rolling in other institutions and businesses as well.
