approve blue bins recycling in Airdrie. The result will be even less room in my garage than I had before as I now have another large bin to store.
I am not against further recycling and helping the environment but I always laugh at how City staff comes to the result that most residents want this.
The surveys sent out are so vague in their questions and so biased towards the City getting the results they want.
Of course most people would like to see some sort of recycling in place and maybe paying more for this service is OK. But what they didn’t ask was whether or not your house is already using a service like this? Or do you mind putting local businesses out of business, which will be the result of these new blue bins. Now more people are going to lose their jobs locally as it will be outsourced to a Calgary company. Those staff members don’t spend their money locally and those businesses don’t donate to local charities and sport teams.
Maybe there is a better way to keep these businesses doing what they do and the City could subsidize them in some way to help increase their businesses and cover more of the city. I know covering all of the city is too much to ask of these smaller businesses, but not all homes are going to participate anyways as most of these blue bins will sit empty for eternity.
If your recycling centre is running at capacity maybe expand that service and more people will make the drive to do their own recycling. If people want to recycle they will find a way to do it no matter if it comes to their door or they have to make the drive themselves.
So now our utility bills are going to go up again with this added service. Maybe the City could try to help offset some of the costs by reducing the garbage bag limit to one each week. This savings would offset the blue bin cost and it would encourage residents to use the bins more.
In my house, even without the blue bin, I only fill one bag of garbage a week right now. When the blue bin comes in, I will have the smallest of bags out on the street on garbage day and yet I am still allowed the two bags per week.
City staff, please reduce the bag limit to one and pass on the savings to each household. There has to be some sort of incentive financially for all of us to participate in all these forced recycling programs.
