Green Means Go

For far too long, Calgary has been behind the times when it comes to green programs such as recycling. The City has a goal of recycling 80% of our waste, leaving only 20% in landfills, which is obviously very important. However, there doesn’t seem to be enough action on reaching this goal, as every step to do so seems to get bogged down in City Council proceedings. We need to move Calgary from behind the times on green programs to become the leader of the pack. With a firm plan in place, we can make this a reality.

Recycling is obviously important for many reasons. To begin with, there are the environmental reasons, reducing our waste is simply a good idea to protect our natural environment. Secondly, recycling can benefit the City financially, with the potential of saving millions of dollars currently being spent dealing with garbage.

Recently, Calgary started its recycling program, one of the last cities in Canada to do so, and it has been a success story so far. However, the program still falls short and needs to be brought up to speed. Currently, apartments, condos and townhouses are not included in the program, meaning over 20% of houses in the City are excluded from recycling. If we are ever to meet the 80/20 goal, we need to be including everybody in recycling. Expansion of the program wouldn’t be very difficult. Other cities in Canada have been able to provide this service for years, yet in Calgary, there always seem to be resistance to what should be an easy decision. This is another symptom of what is wrong at City Hall. There never seems to be any action on anything! It’s always only talk. What should be easy, often takes years and years.

Once Calgary has included all housing types in its recycling efforts, we need to start looking at more innovative ways to reduce waste. Composting programs, which have again been successful in other large cities, needs to be explored. It is estimated that 30% of all household waste is organic material. Imagine having 30% less garbage each week to lug out to the curb. This can have a huge impact on the amount of waste going into our landfills. A successful composting program not only limits landfill use, but also provides the City with environmentally safe fertilizers which can be used to grow more trees, more lawns and more gardens; all with a minimal impact on the environment.

Let’s take Calgary into the 21st century when it comes to waste management, and get these important programs off the ground.

-The Butcher

www.billythebutcher.com
www.twiiter.com/billtummonds