trash

Yeah, so, I am going to write about garbage. And recycling.

It has been six weeks since we put out our trash.

Originally, six weeks ago, I misread the trash/recycling calendar and put out the paper recycling. For some reason they took it.

Then, we went down to the Hammer for Christmas and did not want to burden our neighbour, who was keeping an eye on our place, with having to deal with the trash and recycling containers. That, and seeing the mayhem of our garage where we keep receptacles for such items.

Hey, in the cold of winter, the trash can sit, right? Definitely not during a heat wave in the summer. Maggots are just plain gross.

Also, with the holidays, they do this thing with pushing back the trash and recycling pickup by a day.

So, really, it is now six weeks and a day. Forty-three days. That is a long period for not putting out the trash.

Let me tell you, it is not a record for us.

Where we live is under the mighty and powerful jurisdiction of the capital city of this nation of Canada: Ottawa. As an aside, I do not consider myself an Ottawan. A bit of a stupid moniker too.

So, Ottawa currently has a biweekly cycle for trash and recycling. Every two weeks they pick up trash and so-called blue bin items. Blue bin items are, basically: glass, metal, plastic. Plus they pick up green bin items, which are, basically again, biodegradable food waste and yard waste. On the other weeks, they pick up paper (black bin) and green bin items.

They used to pick up trash and all recyclables weekly, but decided it was economically wasteful. I do not wholly disagree. However, when trash was picked up weekly, we never put our trash out until the trash can was full. We could go for weeks and weeks before that happened.

However, the great and powerful city of Ottawa used to recycle a lot more plastics. That is, until a bonehead mayor decided that less plastic should be recycled and more should be classed as trash. Bonehead? No, assclown! Full disclosure, I never voted for him. Ever.

Anyway, we could go for over two months before putting out the trash, depending on the weather. Do not forget the maggots. We recycled everything that we could. We were very diligent. I grew up that way, so did the wife, and it is how we raised the boy. Then, bam, the wise and omniscient city of Ottawa, and its mayor, decided a "better" path for all.

So, after that, our trash started filling up with non-recyclable plastics. Mostly food packaging. It is somewhat hard to get away from this too. Everything is over-wrapped and over-packaged.

Then it was another mayor who decided on the biweekly trash deal. Again, not in total disagreement.

The thing is, the recycling of plastics should have been expanded, but it was not. The corruption allegation dodging city of Ottawa has, as far as I am concerned, a pretty crappy recycling program. I will not get in to it right now. It would take weeks of locating documents to spell out the shortsightedness of Ottawa, the capital city of Canada, in how they operate with regards to trash and recycling. Then, of course, I would diverge in to innumerable tangents of their other foolish actions, policies, and behaviours. And, oh, did I mention corruption dodging allegations?

Anyway, where was I?

Oh yeah.

So, after six weeks and a day, we still managed to put all our trash in to one garbage can (we only have one garbage can). Now, we have four regular recycling bins and a a super-sized one full of metal, glass, and the plastics that are allowed. We were in a cycle of emptying various large containers so we kind of bloomed. Plus, we no longer save all our metal recycling for a local cat rescue that would take it to raise money. We would crush all our cans and when two bins were full, I would drop them off. We have gotten kind of lazy on the can crushing. I think we will restart the crushing. So much space is saved.

I am digressing again. Six weeks, one garbage can. Here is my question. I knew I would get to it sooner or later.

Why do I see people putting out several cans and bags of garbage every garbage day. It does not matter what neighbourhood or city I am in. Many people people toss a lot. Many people do not recycle at all. But still. That is a whole hell of a lot of garbage. I know people who who toss out as much as nine bags/cans of trash weekly (in other cities of course). I know people in the Ottawa area who toss out as much as six trash containers every two weeks! The maximum allowed in Ottawa.

What the filth?

Even when the boy was in diapers, we managed to keep it to no more than a bag a week.

Sure, we go over the one trash can sometimes. It is usually when we are purging the various flotsam and jetsam I have collected. Still though, a lot of it is recycled, except for the evil and excluded specific plastics despised by the unfathomable city of Ottawa.

Why do people generate so much waste? Why are materials used that cannot be recycled or repurposed? Why do so few people seem to care?

What was my point? You know what? I no longer know. My train of thought has derailed and broken in to many tiny pieces.

Anyway, everybody (including me and the rooster) needs to start thinking about their waste and recycling and not dismissing it as if there is nothing can be done. We, I, need to make better choices of what we are purchasing and the like. Over packaged? Packaging cannot be recycled? Look at another comparable product from a company that gives a damn about waste. blbbl

[N.B. Everything changes in three days.]