Our beautiful city with no garbage pickup

What kind of city do we want to live in during the garbage strike? What are you going to do? Just ignore the growing smelly pile of bags around your dumpster or refuge bin, as the crows spread junk over your alley? Or maybe drop off your week’s waste at your friends house in Burnaby or at your workplace. Seems kind of desperate to me. But then again, disposing of garbage every week isn’t an issue for me … I’ve only done it twice in all of 2007! Two small grocery bags of plastic wrappings and odds and ends that I couldn’t recycle over six months. How did I do it? But more importantly, how can YOU did it during the period of the strike where you won’t be able to hide from your garbage and your neighbours?

The first thing to do is a little thing you might have heard about: Reduce, Reuse, Recycle. Note that the first choice is Reduce – that means don’t buy disposable items in the first place; avoid buying products with excessive packaging. If you eat out, take your own mug, plate and utentils instead of using their disposable plastic/paper items. Take the icecream in a cone rather than a cup and spoon.

Reuse means that when you’re done with something still functional, pass it on to someone else. And consider buying second hand items at thrift stores. There are lots of charities looking for your old furniture, clothes, toys. And there’s lots of online resources such as vancouver.craigslist.org, vancouver.reuses.com to help connect with people that are looking to exchange free/cheap item. Or maybe that damaged bowl can be morphed into a planter, or art supplies for the kids.  And of course you'll reuse those dozens of grocery bags you've been collecting :)

The third and last option is to Recycle. This of course assumes that you purchase items and packaging that are recyclable … and that you do it properly. Do not put all your newspapers in a plastic bag into the newsprint bin! Plastic bags go back to the grocery store.

The big source of smell in the coming weeks is going to be YOUR food waste, but yes this can be recycled also. It’s called composting; you may have heard about it. If you’ve never done it before, maybe now’s the time to start. Small apartment worm composters and backyard composters are subsidized from the city. Oops, city workers are on strike, so you might have to head on down to Home Depot. Complete help with composting is available at CityFarmer 604-736-2250. When you compost properly, you create rich nutrients for your garden while cutting your garbage down significantly. If a bin isn’t appropriate for your living space, ask a neighbour that does have a yard. An airtight container under your sink can hold your food waste until you’re ready to unload it. If you are concerned about smell, put your compost-collecting container in the fridge or try the Biosa Bokashi Composter (www.greatday.ca)

Do we want our city to look like a third-world-slum? I think not; let's all do our part and encourage our neighbours to do the same. If you see recyclable items on the street, take them home to your blue box/bag. Together, we can make most of this strike (and all the other services that will be stopped)

Check out http://vancouver.ca/ctyclerk/NewsReleases2007/NRgarbageinter...

Garbage collection service for commercial properties and apartment buildings are not directly affected by this strike. Apartment recycling for most of the Downtown, Kitsilano, the West End, Fairview Slopes and Mount Pleasant areas is expected to continue.