Editor, The Record:
Re: Food waste bins a bad idea, Aug. 11 edition.
Approximately two years ago our household began recycling in earnest, and within the last year we have become more diligent in separating food waste from other household waste.
I must say it's been surprisingly easy to change our ways, and our motivation has been the recognized environmental benefits of recycling and generally being more responsible about our waste management. Our typical "black bag" waste now consists of one bag per week (from a family of five) which weighs approximately two or three pounds while our food waste can be up to 10 times as much by weight. In a typical week we will put out two blue bags of identified recyclable items. What we are not putting into the landfill is both surprising and gratifying.
Having said all that I feel the need to rebutt the letter printed last week and say that our experience of the new food waste bins has been the opposite of Mr. Wilkes'.
I am at something of a loss to explain the difference, however, we keep our Rot Pot in the garage where it quite simply does not smell. Containing between 20-30 pounds of food waste by the time of each garbage pick up, the only odour we notice is when we open it to put in more waste. If a fleeting pungent pong is the price we pay for being environmentally responsible, I'm all for it.
I can only assume that human error may be responsible for the bins producing noxious fumes — properly closed in our garage, we notice nothing.
We have two very active and curious dogs, neither of which even so much as pause as they pass the bin. Perhaps keeping it properly closed is the answer.
In my opinion, the municipality has hit a home run with this initiative — it makes a great deal of sense and has been effectively rolled out. It is our responsibility as consumers to do our best to dispose of our waste responsibly. After all, if we continue to abuse our environment, we'll lose it, and this scheme offers us the opportunity to do just that.
Leo Simmons
Mission