When I was living in Toronto in 2005, the city debuted the Green Bin Program, which made it possible for homeowners to divert their organic waste from landfills without the help of worms. I lived in a low rise at the time, which was included in the initial rollout; however, most multi-unit apartment buildings and condominiums weren't included until late 2008. The program made the city responsible for weekly curbside pick up of biodegradable items, such as fruit and vegetable scraps, paper towels, and coffee grinds, materials that make up about 1/3 of all household waste (City of Toronto). In combination with the Blue Bin Program and other initiatives, Toronto has managed to steadily increase its residential waste diversion rate, up to 44% in 2008, although the number will likely fall short of the 2010 target of 70%. The city is currently looking at building new organic waste and mixed waste processing facilities that would allow further program expansion.
I am now living in Vancouver, which has just this past year started a draft Solid Waste Management Plan that includes a waste diversion target of 70% by the year 2015 (Metro Vancouver). Although the city currently boasts a 55% waste diversion rate, I am a little concerned that we aren't more ambitious about our target and doing more to get there in a shorter period of time. There are a number of innovative waste diversion projects taking place not just in Canada, but all over the world, and I think it would work to our advantage to get a little creative with our solutions. I think it's also important to involve the public along the way, and make them accountable for the results. After all, it is to our collective benefit when we succeed.
In 2007, I spent 6 months on a student exchange in the picturesque City of Ghent in Flanders, Belgium. With a population of 250,000, the city runs a program that encourages people to divert their waste in a very simple way. In order for the city to pick up your waste from the curb, all materials have to be separated and deposited in official IVAGO bags (IVAGO being the local waste collecting and treating company). IVAGO garbage bags can be purchased at any grocery store for about EUR 75 cents each, while blue recycle bags, used to recycle selected packaging material, such as plastic bottles and drink cartons, are about five times cheaper at EUR 13 cents each. Glass bottles can be left outside in any large reusable plastic container, while paper and cardboard must be tied together with a rope. Finally, organic waste must be deposited in IVAGO containers, which have been marked with a special electronic chip that actually helps keep track of your total household organic waste and charges you accordingly for processing (Stad Gent). It is important to note here that the city also provides no-cost or low cost composting bins.
The City of Ghent has seen a decrease in the amount of household waste that could be the result of both improved separation (and therefore, higher diversion of recyclable and organic material away from landfills), and preventative behaviours, such as residents buying more fresh fruit and vegetables (and avoiding packaging altogether). The fact that the collection of unsorted household waste is more expensive than the collection of separated waste incites residents to do their part.
I recently found out that innovative pay-per-bag and pay-as-you-throw schemes are quite common throughout Europe, and it would be interesting to see them applied in Canada. I think that getting people more involved in their own waste management is the only way to get them thinking about the serious consequences of our collective trash problems. Moreover, if we were able to keep track of our waste volume, using computer chips for example, and to set personal goals for diversion, this would result in an overall 70% diversion rate in no time at all.
