Quote:
Originally Posted by Save Us Sutter
http://www.canada.com/calgaryherald/...15bd3a&k=53284
The percentage of containers returned to bottle depots in Alberta has dropped across the province in the past two years...
Not sure why the decline, though the explanation that labour shortages are causing long wait times seems viable. The other thing I've noticed, is that most of the depots close at 5pm or so... not exactly convenient for a city that seems to like working long hours.
But the real question IMO (and I'm new to this province, so excuse my ignorance) is if the Albertan government wants to increase recycling, why not have curbside pick-up? As I type this, I have about 30 bottles/cans in bags in my storage closet. Not enough to justify racing out to the depot after work to catch it before it closes, but annoying and smelly enough that I don't really want them in my house.
If I were back home, I'd throw them in a bag and out to the curb on garbage day.
Obviously there's a cost associated with this, but the government is already paying us 5 or 10 cents for these items. This way they keep their money and landfills get a much needed break.
In Halifax we also have curbside composting... but one step at a time Calgary... one step at a time.
Thoughts?
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This has been on the news quite a bit and also written up in various magazines.
1. When you go to bottle depots you face long line ups and hours might not coincide with when you can go there. I think they too are faced with a crunch to find labor.
2. It was pointed out that the biggest problem is generated by the bottled water drinkers. Quite often, they are doing various activities or in locations that do not have separate bins for recycling. So a lot of the empty water bottle containers are just going in ordinary garbage cans and that waste just ends up in the dump. They estimated in the stories I heard and the articles I read, that 40% of bottled water containers end up in the dump.