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If the rotting heaps of trash on the streets and in the parks can teach us anything beyond the importance of keeping Mel Lastman locked in a drawer during critical negotiations, it’s that we produce a horrific amount of garbage.The hysteria driving people to start throwing out anything they can possibly find after just two weeks of a strike is incredible, but lost in the shouting about this labour dispute is any serious discussion about reducing our trash production.
The City of Toronto’s Web site (www.city.toronto.on.ca/labour_disruption/index.htm) offers only minimal information about the strike and is more concerned with telling you where you can dump your trash than with helping you reduce the amount of it your household produces.
Thankfully, there are thousands of other Web sites dedicated to trash, composting, recycling and ways to cut down on your contribution to landfill sites.
If only someone could do something about all the trash online.
This has nothing to do with household waste, but is instead the official site of the trashy pop rock band of the same name. Just thought you should know.
www.learner.org/exhibits/garbage
An interesting exhibit on trash and how communities can reduce waste.
www.epa.gov/epaoswer/non-hw/ reduce/catbook
Created by the U.S. government, which, if the number of sites online is any indication, is much more interested in promoting waste reduction than the Canadian government, this is the Consumer Handbook For Reducing Solid Waste. It includes the usual obvious tips as well as compelling arguments for why you should actually care.
www.besmart.org
More info on cutting down on the number of bags you take to the curb from, of all places, Wisconsin.
October 21 to 27 is Waste Reduction Week in Canada. Start planning.
With the trash on the street come rodents. Helpful information in case you decide to take one of those disease-carrying furry critters into your home as a pet. mattg@nowtoronto.com
