Editor:
My wife and I are recent residents/retirees to the beautiful Sunshine Coast from Calgary and would like to offer up a fresh-eyed perspective: is the Sunshine Coast serious about recycling? Shouldn't we set ambitious goals for the future to reduce waste added to our landfills? Why not set a long-term goal to reduce the amount of waste going to the landfills to 20 per cent and to recycle or recover 80 per cent of waste materials?
As my favourite teacher said a very long time ago, "What gets measured - gets accomplished."
Has a household waste volume comparison been made between Sechelt (with the curbside recycling program) and Gibsons (currently living without a curbside program)? The information concluded from some clear eyed analysis might be very interesting.
Calgary, for example has recently introduced a curbside recycling program in addition to the existing depot recycling concept that has been around for a long time as it is seen that recycling depots alone have long since reached their peak of effectiveness. Will the recycling depots remain in existence? It is hard to say, but I suspect not.
Since moving out to the Sunshine Coast, my recycling awareness has increased dramatically. I see the blue bins often enough and find myself unconsciously behaving in a much more environmentally responsible manner. I'm sure I am not on my own.
The one potential downside I see is that revenues historically received for household waste at the landfill will be reduced and this may put pressure on the SCRD to come up with other revenue streams.
P & M Barker Sechelt
