Bring on user-pay garbage pick-up

By Michael Gennings Simcoe.com March 2 2011

The County of Simcoe’s plan to introduce a “user-pay” garbage pick-up system next year caused me to have a bit of a knee-jerk reaction when I first heard about it.

“Those weenies,” I said, or words to that affect. “They are trying to screw residents who already pay – through their taxes – to have garbage picked up.”

But very quickly I came to like the idea.

I warmed up to it as I started taking stock of what my family of four is already putting at the curb.

Mainly our one bag of garbage each week is disposable diapers. I know, for that alone we’re pond scum, but I digress.

The rest of the “trash” we produce goes into our green bin – another change I at first detested for fear it would smell (it doesn’t). And then whatever else we have goes into the blue bin (metal and glass recyclables) and the grey bin (paper recyclables).

So, having to buy a $2 tag isn’t too bad. In fact, I figure we will probably only put a garbage bag at the curb twice a month. That’s a cost of $48 a year. And once The Boys are out of those oh-so evil disposable diapers we should hardly need a garbage bag at all.

Beyond diapers, the only other thing we tend to throw out is non-recyclable plastic (ie., clam shell plastic, plastic straps, etc.). So if we make a greater effort to avoid this type of packaging it shouldn’t be much of an issue.

I figure if as a family of four we can make this work then most other people can as well.

I mean how much trash can a single person or two retired people generate if they’re using the green bin, blue box and grey box properly?

Really what it boils down to – for those against making this change – is people have to adjust their habits. Make greater use of your green bin: food scraps, bits of paper, hair, coffee grinds – all that stuff can go in it. Every other bit of paper can go in the grey bin. And your blue box can handle cans and bottles.

The change the county is introducing will hopefully extend the life of our current landfills – something I think we can all agree is a good thing. No one wants another Site 41-like debacle to unfold, especially since Site 42 – a proposed landfill near Stayner – is in our own backyard.

Furthermore, if you refuse to change with the times you can still have your “garbage” picked up. You just have to pay. Sounds fair to me, since that’s what we’re doing under the current system through our taxes.

I suspect most people will like this new change – even if it’s a bit painful at first as folks adjust their habits. But I do believe it will make us more conscious of what we’re throwing out too and what “bin” we place it in. This is just another change and in a few years we’ll think nothing of it.

Yes, there will be some illegal dumping but I doubt that will be a big long-term problem. You have to be a real idiot – and quite determined I might add – to dump illegally.

And yes – I realize there will be some “implementation” things to work out but in the long run I think this is a good move; one I believe future generations will thank us for making.

Michael Gennings is community editor for The Stayner Sun and The Wasaga Sun.