Orléans Star
Published: Friday, November 20, 2009

What to do with expensive green bins

The old adage “beware of strangers bearing gifts” draws its origins from Greek mythology and the Trojan War – which is actually the subject of some historical argument – when the City of Troy fell to the ruse of the Trojan horse, a supposed victory gift.  

Well it seems that the City of Ottawa has played the role of the Achaeans (a.k.a. Greeks) by leaving their victorious and now infamous “Trojan horse” green bins on our driveways. And just like the poor citizens of Troy, this gift is a costly one.

Two weeks ago the city’s planning and environment committee proposed to make the fees we pay for the new green bin, along with our existing black and blue bins, more “transparent” and “accountable.” As if we weren’t black and blue enough from paying some of the highest per capita property taxes in the country, most urban residents could be paying new flat fees for this rainbow of waste collection boxes.

Presently, we pay $86 per household for curbside garbage pickup. On top of this we could be paying $41 per year for the black and blue bins and an additional $68 for the green bin. A bin that none of us really asked for.

To top it all off, the planning committee also suggested hiring five additional bylaw officers to “ensure” that we are being compliant and separating out our organic and recyclable waste into their proper bins. Thankfully our local east end councillors spoke out against this nanny-state bylaw madness.

Sadly what no one at city hall dares to speak on the garbage file is the truth. In their valiant attempt not to build any new or expand existing garbage dumps (a.k.a. landfills), city officials – both elected and staff – have, over almost two decades, gone from one bin to two and now three.

Reducing the waste we consume in terms of consumer packaging is something we can all do. Ditto for how we shop and purchase our food. But since time began, human settlements have created garbage. And post-industrial society, which is what we are, produces a lot of garbage.

Waste-to-energy conversion, be it embryonic plasmafication technology or more established incineration, needs waste to thrive. And the waste that works best for these technologies is the dry, fibre-rich (think paper products) variety and some types of plastics. Isn’t this the exact stuff that is carted off in our blue and black boxes on alternating weeks?

As for the unwanted green bins, I can just smell the garage already. Or if you store your green bin outside, well hello raccoons, it’s buffet time. Or you can just quietly resist. One friend plans to use his green bin to store dog food. A neighbour said he plans to use his green bin for de-icing salt. Not to be outdone, a work colleague thinks her green bin will make the mother of all diaper genies. What will you do with yours?