Dear editor,
Community life relies on the personal responsibility of residents.
Stopping at red lights, not littering, refraining from watering lawns during a drought, being careful about what’s tossed into garbage bins – most people try to be responsible community members. Co-operation is what makes it all work reasonably well.
The garbage collectors have always had the ability to reject any inappropriate ‘offerings’ of residents. If I understand the new process correctly, it will entail random checks by city staff because hands-on contact with garbage has been eliminated. Contaminated loads carry a cost — to all of us. The city is encouraging personal responsibility when using our public solid-waste system.
Any talk of “demolished privacy boundaries” over random spot-checks of bins heading for pick-up is nothing more than inflammatory fear-mongering.
Tom Pater,
Courtenay