In this society recycling is a must. Up until now we have been putting things in our bins and out they go on garbage day.
Now, it’s a new system. We have a green bin which is approximately the size of a medium sized green garbage bag. This green bin is for the kitchen waste and wet articles such as peelings, leftovers, etc. It also accommodates tissues, paper towels and sanitary items and even kitty litter. This bin goes out to the curb once a week.
Secondly, we have a new blue bin. This bin comes in three sizes, small, medium and large. We have the small and it does have quite a good capacity. Most of our neighbours have medium or large bins. These bins accommodate paper products, newspapers, cardboard, cans, glass jars and many other recyclable materials. Apparently, the small bin is collected free of charge, but there will be eventual charges for the larger sizes.
Next is a gray bin. They also come in Small, Medium and Large. The small will hold the equivalent of one large green garbage bag and this is the bin we chose for our house. At the moment we place one half bag out to the curb every second week so the small bin should be plenty for us. .
The catch: On the information sheets given to us by the city department, reading between the lines tell a story. It states that for the first year we will be given a $99 credit for the bins. We will be given tags for any extras that we have and these tags will be coded to our household for the collector who will put it through the computer. There will be a charge of $3.50 per extra bag of garbage. If you consider that we are being given a $99 for the first year, it implies that the minimum garbage charge will be $99 in the future and will be added to our existing utility bill. That utility bill started off about four or five years ago at about $30 every three months which is to cover water and sewage. Currently our utility bill is over $100 and rising. It appears that our new city utility bill for garbage collection is on the upswing.
We are very careful with making sure that our purchases have as little packaging as possible. Shopping in the Bulk Barn saves many boxes of waste. Molded bakery trays and those types of containers are not recyclable and can really collect up. We just stopped buying those items altogether. I should mention that we never eat out and have all three meals every day at home. At first it took quite a bit of planning to reduce the waste, but now we are in the groove and are managing very well. Many of our foods are homemade now such as cookies and cakes and this not only saves waste but also food budget dollars
You can reduce by conscious thought and revamping your shopping and cooking procedures. The outcome is much less garbage, much less recyclable items and often saving money on your food budget.
It’s worthwhile. Give it a try.