Waste reduction?
The goals of the governments of Toronto, Ontario, and other municipalities to reduce the amount of garbage heading to landfills is apparently working, as many towns and cities are reporting reductions of 20 - 30% or more in the amount of garbage heading into landfills. On its surface this sounds like a success. How is this being achieved?
Possibilities:
1) People are actually buying less stuff.
ha - ha.
2) More Recycling - people are recycling more stuff - so that there is less going to landfill.
Lets look at this example: Barrie Ontario: According to a C.D Howe paper from 2005, Barrie enjoyed a 39% reduction in waste sent to landfill, with a 20 percent increase in recycling when they implemented a two bag limit. Sounds good - right? Instead of percentages, look at the actual amounts in kilograms this represents. Using numbers from the same C.D. Howe paper, the amount of garbage per household went from 1 tonne to about 610kg, so 390kg less. The increase in recycling, though, amounts to only about 50kg or less. Where did the 340kg per household savings come from? Put another way - 340kg of waste per household just disappeared. Maybe aliens are taking it. - OK Some of it is a result of less leaves and grass clippings making it into the garbage, but that effect is only another 100kg at the most.
So where is it going?
Ravines, ditches, holes in construction sites, semi-legal farm burning operations, etc., etc. In other words generally spread out like a fine spray all over our province. Kinda reminds one of the 50's all over again. What we are creating here is a mess that our kids will have to laboriously pick up piece by piece.
That is how politicians run the environment.
How would I handle it?
Easy - ok that is sort of a joke - take the burden of paying for landfill and recycling programs out of the hands of the tax payer, and let industry and retail pay for the entire bill. Also make it illegal to charge for dumping in Ontario. We need the garbage to be in landfills. That is most important thing. I think that if people have to pay to throw everything out that they buy up front, then a real reduction in packaging and 'junk' consumer goods will result. You can't lock the dumpsters.
The real way to reduce waste is to actually generate tax revenue in addition to the amount that it costs to collect and dump. This means a shift to taxing the pollution instead of the current system of taxing people for working and owning a house. A carbon tax is another great way to reduce pollution and shift the tax burden to those who spend furiously on energy and consumer goods. If you tax something enough, it will go away.
With taxes like this, the quality of consumer goods will go up, the air will be cleaner and we will all be happier. Really.
--Tom Andersen
ref: http://www.cdhowe.org/pdf/commentary_213.pdf
Possibilities:
1) People are actually buying less stuff.
ha - ha.
2) More Recycling - people are recycling more stuff - so that there is less going to landfill.
Lets look at this example: Barrie Ontario: According to a C.D Howe paper from 2005, Barrie enjoyed a 39% reduction in waste sent to landfill, with a 20 percent increase in recycling when they implemented a two bag limit. Sounds good - right? Instead of percentages, look at the actual amounts in kilograms this represents. Using numbers from the same C.D. Howe paper, the amount of garbage per household went from 1 tonne to about 610kg, so 390kg less. The increase in recycling, though, amounts to only about 50kg or less. Where did the 340kg per household savings come from? Put another way - 340kg of waste per household just disappeared. Maybe aliens are taking it. - OK Some of it is a result of less leaves and grass clippings making it into the garbage, but that effect is only another 100kg at the most.
So where is it going?
Ravines, ditches, holes in construction sites, semi-legal farm burning operations, etc., etc. In other words generally spread out like a fine spray all over our province. Kinda reminds one of the 50's all over again. What we are creating here is a mess that our kids will have to laboriously pick up piece by piece.
That is how politicians run the environment.
How would I handle it?
Easy - ok that is sort of a joke - take the burden of paying for landfill and recycling programs out of the hands of the tax payer, and let industry and retail pay for the entire bill. Also make it illegal to charge for dumping in Ontario. We need the garbage to be in landfills. That is most important thing. I think that if people have to pay to throw everything out that they buy up front, then a real reduction in packaging and 'junk' consumer goods will result. You can't lock the dumpsters.
The real way to reduce waste is to actually generate tax revenue in addition to the amount that it costs to collect and dump. This means a shift to taxing the pollution instead of the current system of taxing people for working and owning a house. A carbon tax is another great way to reduce pollution and shift the tax burden to those who spend furiously on energy and consumer goods. If you tax something enough, it will go away.
With taxes like this, the quality of consumer goods will go up, the air will be cleaner and we will all be happier. Really.
--Tom Andersen
ref: http://www.cdhowe.org/pdf/commentary_213.pdf
Labels: C.D Howe, environment, garbage, recycling, waste
posted by Tom Andersen at 1:54 PM
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