As the Collingwood Climate Action Team (CCAT) prepares social media posts for National Waste Reduction Week (Oct. 18-24), it's also taking aim at the county's large garbage carts with a new petition.
Mary Jo McArthur-Scott, the leader of the consumption and waste working team in CCAT, or "trash talking committee" as she calls it, started a Change.org petition calling for smaller options of bins in the name of waste reduction.
"I knew we were getting big bins ... but I was speechless when I opened my garage and saw them," said the Collingwood resident. "I am flabbergasted they would think everyone needed giant garbage bins when our landfill is overflowing."
For her, waste reduction is like dieting. A smaller plate helps one eat less. Smaller bins, she said, would help people produce less garbage.
"It's psychological," she said.
"Waste reduction needs to be the aim of any waste disposal and recycling program," wrote McArthur-Scott for the petition. "The oversized bins we have been issued do nothing to encourage people to reduce their waste and, instead, seem to indicate, the more waste, the better."
This is the second similar petition started by a local, asking the county to reconsider the garbage bin size. The first, by Dave Dickson, is now at 2,770 signatures. Another petition circulated to residents of the Blue Fairway subdivision in Collingwood gathered about 70 signatures before it was sent to Mayor Brian Saunderson.
To date, there has been significant local opposition to the size of the carts with residents indicating they do not fit in single-car garages, and many condominiums have no outdoor space to keep them. Downtown businesses are also raising a protest with hundreds of bins delivered or on their way to businesses and apartments on Hurontario Street.
For the trash-talk committee of CCAT, the issue is not just space for the bins, it's space for the garbage they're meant to hold.
"I am flabbergasted they would think everyone needed giant garbage bins when our landfill is overflowing," said McArthur-Scott. "There are some big families around, they probably need big bins."
The county has been delivering three new bins to each household in Collingwood, multiple sets were delivered to multi-unit homes and some businesses also received them.
The recycling bin is the largest at 360 litres, followed by the garbage bin at 240 litres and organics at 120 litres.
McArthur-Scott is hoping the CCAT petition will reach 200 signatures, and she plans to present it to Mayor Brian Saunderson, one of 30 mayors and deputy mayors on Simcoe County council before a meeting on the issue taking place Oct. 26.
"Everyone has garbage, but everyone can reduce their garbage if they put some thought into it," she said.
She's also hoping education will help people understand compost/organic material produces high amounts of methane and is a significant contributor to greenhouse gases, which is why composting should be encouraged.
Recycling should also be a last resort, she said, as many plastics that go into the recycle bin end up in the landfill anyway because of inefficient recycling options.
McArthur-Scott lives with her husband, and they produce one small bag of garbage per month.
You can find the CCAT petition at collingwoodclimateaction.com or at change.org.
