GLOCAL Globaly local

 Landfills are an international issue. Many people say that 2 to10% of earth is covered, or has been covered by some kind of landfill. This includes all waste dumped into the oceans.  Some countries do not keep records on their waste disposal so it is very difficult to have good numbers.  This world-wide problem kills animals (in various ways)and poisons water both underground and above ground. All in all, it is a real hazard! LANDFILLS

Landfills Locally  In my local area, there are no landfills, so it is more of a distant issue.  We can however do our part in reducing the amount of waste that ends up in Canadian landfills.  We are close to the best in most aspects of waste reduction and recycling, but my city - Baie D’Urfé - is the all time worst performer in recycling of CRD and bulky materials in the island of Montreal.

Local Baie D’urfé  Apart from bulky material waste, we do not have such bad statistics in the other categories.  We can however improve on everything.  It is very, very possible. It may be difficult, but our society is far too consumption driven for us not to reduce as much as possible.

World-Wide Performance in Waste Reducal: Sweden  Sweden is the all time winner in the least amount of waste going to landfills: only 4% of their household waste go to landfills. As a matter of fact, they have so little waste, that they have to buy some from neighboring countries… now that’s a goal we could aim for!

 Setting a goal like Sweden will be close to impossible (not impossible, but will take a great deal of time and effort).  Belgium is a good example of how we could go about reducing our quantity of waste, specially bulky waste. World-Wide Performance in Waste Reducal: Belgium

 In Belgium, they recycle 70% of household waste. (witch is three times more than in England)  The people pay a separate annual waste management fee, which is at the base 80$. On top of that, they pay various charges based on the weight and volume of the waste each household produces. Belgium Waste Control

Belgium Waste Control (2)  The idea is to encourage people to produce less waste and recycle since the final bill on recycled materials is much smaller then garbage, which can go up to 180$ for those who do not stay within the given limits.  Fees on waste are calculated depending on the weight of the bins when they are emptied into the trucks.

Belgium Waste Control (3)  They associate the weight of the garbage bin with a chip inserted into the bin that tells a computer witch family has produced what weight of garbage.  Since the fee is related to the weight of the garbage produced, cities offered locks for the bins, so that people would not use other people’s bin to dispose of their trash. But very few people actually bought them.

Belgium Waste control: Bulky Materials  This is where is gets even more useful for my local area; it is where we have the most difficulty.  Reducing Bulky Waste quantity in Belgium is just like all other waste. If you throw it out, they weight it and associate it to you and at the end of the month you have to pay. And since couches and other objects that fall into the bulky materials weight a lot, it costs a lot to throw them out, so most people throw as little as possible: they reuse, reduce and recycle them.

 I think that we should do things in a very similar way to Belgium; remove the tax on garbage collection and implement a new fee for service system devoted to waste disposal. Put a fixed fee for those who stay within the limitation of waste, but for those who exceed it, add extra fees. Waste Disposal in Baie D’Urfé

Implementing the Solution  Going to the town hall and presenting this idea, and making it into a pilot project, hoping that they will take it seriously. If they implement the initiative, talk to the counselors on how we all need to change for the idea to become feasible. Adjust what needs to be adjusted and keep what works. Maybe even finding a company willing to sponsor the initiative.

Baie D’Urfé to Earth  The most amazing thing that would happen if Baie D’Urfé was to change, would be that it would inspire our neighboring towns, like Beaconsfield. Eventually the whole island of Montreal would become more conscious of it’s waste and the island as a whole would create change. And maybe even one day into an even bigger scale…

!THANK YOU!