Dear editor,
I hope rural residents turn out to vote against the proposed mandatory one-size-fits-all waste pickup service.
Perhaps, and only perhaps, for a few it would result in a small annual savings. The unpalatable downside is that it would permanently eliminate an individual’s right to choose an appropriate level of service.
In our case, we choose to have one pickup every two weeks, and our provider does not object to handling an extra occasional bag with those awkward bulky items like styrofoam packaging. Do not count on us for any change in the amount of waste going to the landfill, as we already recycle everything eligible for pickup.
We compost compostable material ourselves as a valued resource. It would not reduce our trips to the ReStore, or return sites for electronics, paint, metal, unsalvageable furniture or renovation material.
If typical urban standards are followed, cardboard and the like would have to be wrapped into tidy little bundles so it is not strewn all over the boulevard in a soggy winter mess.
Currently I can pop such recyclables into my car directly from the garage every month or so, to take to the bins when I feel like it, not according to some bureaucrat’s timetable.
Dragging such stuff to the curb would be 20 times as far and a total nuisance.
David A. Kelly,
Courtenay