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coldstreamer@shaw.ca******* Issues related to the District of Coldstream, local government issues, political commentary, local area photos,oddities in the news etc....
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About Me
- Coldstreamer
- I have been a resident of Coldstream since 1976. I have had 15 years of experience on Council, 3 years as Mayor. As a current Councillor I am working to achieve fair water and sewer rates and to ensure that taxpayers get fair treatment. The current direction regarding water supply is unsustainable and I am doing all I can to get the most cost effective water supply possible.
11 comments:
re universal garbage collection.
I make purchase decisions based on whether or not product packaging can be recycled. I estimate I have approx 1 safeway shopping bag about every 2.5 weeks (it consists mainly of sharp can lids.
We save up our clean but unrecyclabes and take them up to the dump every couple of months.
There is no smell because anything that will decompose goes in the compost.
The old transfer station at the base of Middleton was so handy. We purchased stickers to pay for each trash bag. And could conveniently drop all our recycling in one place.
Perhaps the current garbage removal companies could bid on hauling materials to the landfill?
Your comments under "Trash Options Up for Discussion in Coldstream" imply that those of us who pay for universal garbage collection in other areas, such as the City of Vernon, are not motivated to reduce the amount of our garbage because we pay a fixed rate for collection.
You could test this conclusion with a phone call to NORD's Waste Reduction office to inquire whether Vernonites have sent in MORE, or LESS, garbage to the landfill in recent years, despite escalating program fees.
I suspect the answer is LESS, as most of us are already DOING THE RIGHT THING and considering recycling and reuse options before disposal.
It would be nice to see your municipality fully committed to our regional recycling & disposal facilities, and to our regional waste management/reduction responsibilities.
You can trust Coldstream residents to reuse and recycle their hearts out! I encourage the municipality of Coldstream to get with the program.
Coldstream residents will understand that there is more at stake here than just what it costs you personally per bag.
P.S. For Coldstream Administration, charging a fee quarterly with a District of Coldstream utility bill, versus selling tags individually, is likely the more cost-effective option.
What I see on the streets of Coldstream are usually one or two bags of trash per many households.
I don't see how changing the mode of pickup will change anything. There is already enough information and education about recycling already.
We used to pickup our garbage stickers from the corner store. I heard no complaints from anyone. I did hear complaints from people who were happy with the transfer station.
EastHillResident, I imply nothing of that sort. I believe most people are conscientious about reducing garbage. However, it is obvious that a residence occupied by one person would produce more garbage than a residence occupied by five. Why should the residence with a single occupant pay the same as the residence with multiple occupants? We don't charge flat rate for water, sewer, groceries, etc., why should we pay a flat rate for garbage. That is exactly what the present system of mandatory garbage collection forces taxpayers to do. This a case of another good idea poorly implemented by politicians and bureaucracy.
Using that logic, Coldstreamer, I should pay less property taxes because I am only 1 person occupying a house and therefore impact our municipal infrastructure less than a multi-person household, and I shouldn't pay school taxes because I don't have any kids in school, and I shouldn't pay for parks if I don't use 'em, and I should pay less ICBC insurance because I drive less or only in town, etc.
You see where this is leading... ?
The best we can hope for is a system that does the right things, for the right reasons, for the majority of the population, not for every single individual's need or want.
The economic impact of garbage collection (i.e. paying for 2 bags even if you only use 1) is not so great that it will undermine our regional waste reduction goals.
touche' Coldstreamer.
If I produce less than one full bag of non-recylcables every month why should I pay the same as a household that produces more?
In many cases it costs more to buy environmentally benign products and their packaging. I don't want to be dinged once at the checkout then again by a mandatory collection fee!
From these comments, I gather a ONE BAG collection system would not be as offensive?
Heck, maybe us Vernonites should be questioning why our Council believes it is OK for us to generate 2 BAGS of garbage every week. Maybe ONE BAG per week is more than enough?
On a personal note, I have a hard time filling up one garbage bag every month, let alone every week.
Garbage collection is hardly a right, it is a solution employed by communities that sell and consume products that cannot be recycled.
However, the issue of trash has alot to do with the greater good: landfill leachates pollute our water. Sanitation trucks pollute our air.
Unless we are a self-sufficient hermit we will avail ourselves of a range of services. Those providing those services will need education to learn a trade, profession or service. Taxes directed to schools do benefit all of us from babes to seniors.
My partner pays more for car insurance because they commute, while I pay less because I pay for "pleasure driving". Car insurance is calibrated to use and a safe driving record. It is not one size fits all.
As far as those parks, they help clean the air, are noise buffers and most of all it is better to have a kid in a park kicking a ball than a kid using their "creative" energy to tag buildings or "borrow" the property of private citizens.
The flat "access fee" would still apply to all households. It's the "user pay" part that would be truly user pay.
Thank you all for the excellent comments.
Thanks to the last Anonymous poster for not contributing to the discussion, but apparently for attempting to educate me? Sorry but you obviously misread the intent of my post.
You bring up a good point though: We should consider the environmental impact of everyone being forced to drive their own car (as they can't take the bus!) to the landfill or recycling station, whenever they have a need to do so.
In Europe, we grew up with recycling bins right smack dab in our communities (and I'm talking 40+ years ago!). You could walk up to a variety of bins and dump your newspapers, glass, etc. In North America, our car-centred culture and urban sprawl design means we must use vehicles every time we want to recycle (unless we are lucky enough to have collection service!).
There may be no "one size fits all" approach - what works in Europe won't always work here - but hopefully you will keep this conversation going so we can look forward to a true USER PAY garbage collection/recycling system!
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