Raise the Hammer

Our household certainly does not generate enough for weekly collection -- garbage less than once a month; recycling once or twice a month; green bin once every two or three months (we compost much of our own for the garden). I would imagine there are many other households that would do just fine on bi-weekly collection. We are a two-person household and by no means live austerely. What we do, however, is cook and bake almost everything from scratch and buy most of our non-perishables in bulk. We do not purchase packaged, ready-made, out-of-the-box/bag/can meals. It is mostly perishables -- fruits, nuts, vegetables, herbs (not available/in season from our own herb patch and garden), etc. -- that we do not purchase in bulk. That leaves us with very little waste, including recyclables, and mainly when bulk containers are empty. I understand for people living in condos or apartment buildings without access to outdoor gardening and composting facilities, this lifestyle might be a little harder, though we've spent many years living in apartments and still managed to produce very little waste.

As suggested in the article, utilising well-designed websites, or even social media such as facebook and twitter, while not capable of engaging everyone, could certainly engage a great many Hamiltonians. Soliciting short stories, such as the one I opened with and including surveys with check-boxes and radio buttons, would give council a wealth of information at low cost. It would also allow them to target waste and recycling education much more effectively. And it would quickly show them which populations are not engaged through online media and follow up with them in other ways. There are many great and easy ways to engage the public. The City just needs to move away from a paternalistic management style towards more representative democratic processes that harness the many tools now available for public engagement.