Only Policy will Save the World
How Green Bins spread across Canada to my small town
A month ago I watched as two guys swung shiny new green bins from a truck, dropping them off house to house in my small town. I was home at the time and thanked the fellows with an elbow bump. I’d been waiting for this for a long time.
For a short period in the spring of 2004 I lived in Halifax, and noticed green bins in action there for the first time. Even my girlfriend’s conservative, business-type father, who would never let a smelly composter touch his manicured backyard, participated eagerly in the program which had been running since 1998 (Patil, 2019). I was amazed. Only earth-saving crunchy granola eaters composted in my home province of B.C., despite the proliferation of public education campaigns and compost centres.
Raising awareness is essential, of course. Passionate advocates and early adopters push issues into public consciousness, share knowledge and skills, test out new technologies or revive nearly forgotten practices. All of this hard work builds political will so that good policies can be piloted and implemented.
Nova Scotia, along with PEI, both boast very high rates of composting, at somewhere in the high-eighty to low-ninety percent range of households participating (Mustapha, 2013). The Green Bin program there is the best in Canada, and has enjoyed success in a number of measures.
I was raised to believe that throwing an apple core in the garbage is definitively wrong, like 2+2=5 wrong. Trapped inside a black trash bag, that apple core won’t turn into soil and worse, it rots anaerobically creating potent methane gas; a disaster for the climate. Food waste represents nearly half of what we throw away globally (Hawken, 2017), and accounts for up to 8% of global GHG emissions (Gage, 2018). Composting is a vital tool we can implement now to help restore a stable climate.
Detractors of green bin programs have many criticisms. In B.C., a valid reason people are against the idea involves bear safety. Many communities live alongside black bears and struggle to find the balance of safety and protection. Food-conditioned bears are dead bears, and this is a tragedy.
Over the course of more than ten years in our house, many bears have come to visit. One came to lie in the strawberry patch for lunch, another to get into the garbage we left outside for too long. One came to tip over our outdoor chest freezer and gorge on frozen berries and fish, another to browse our backyard compost. One came to kill our rabbit, and another to kill some chickens. We’ve learned and adjusted our behaviour (freezing compost and putting it out the morning of pickup), and none have come to visit our green bin so far.
I sat on the Zero Waste Committee with a few councillors and other stakeholders at the Town of Gibsons a few years ago as we researched and debated a curbside organics program. I argued in favour of the idea and now it has come to pass in several jurisdictions on the Sunshine Coast. I’m proud of the vigorous work done in my community to divert waste from the landfill and prevent methane from building up and escaping into the atmosphere.
I’m also selfishly enjoying the service. As a self-proclaimed earth-saving crunchy granola type, I’ve been composting in backyards for many years. Unfortunately, I’m just not that good at it. My constructed-from-pallets double bin is falling apart, I don’t turn it often enough, I don’t have the proper ratio of greens to browns, and several rodent families have taken up residence in the pile, eating their fill.
Thanks to the green bin, my compost goes to Salish Soils, a local business. Indigenous owned and operated, they are an exemplar of economic, social and ecological sustainability. Thanks to those who advocated, researched, engineered and rolled out the program, adoption has climber to 82% of community residents, and over 62 tonnes of food waste have been diverted from the local landfill. GHG emissions reductions haven’t been calculated, but they are sure to be significant.
This is a policy that can and is being replicated around the world. With proper implementation and community buy-in, it’s an actual planet saver. In Drawdown: The most comprehensive plan ever proposed to reverse global warming, reducing food waste tops the list of most effective solutions to the climate crisis. In my books, the case for green bins is open and shut.
References:
Composting Council (2020). ICAW Poster Contest. Retrieved from: https://www.compostfoundation.org/ICAW/ICAW-Poster-Contest
Gage, D. (Oct. 29, 2018). Top reasons why you’re avoiding composting & how to get over that crap (Why Composting Matters). Retrieved from: https://www.planetforward.org/idea/compost-myths-debunk
Gorrie, P. (Oct. 22, 2012) Composting Organics in Canada. Retrieved from: https://www.biocycle.net/composting-organics-in-canada/
Hawken, P. (April 18, 2017). Drawdown: The most comprehensive plan ever proposed to reverse global warming (Composting). Retrieved from: https://drawdown.org/solutions/composting
Mustapha, I. (2013). Composting by households in Canada. Retrieved from: https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/pub/16-002-x/2013001/article/11848-eng.htm
Patil, A. (Jun. 30, 2019) ‘We do consider them to be successful’: Green bins have a 20-year history in Halifax. Retrieved from: https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/nova-scotia/halifax-green-compost-bins-20-years-later-1.5195777
Roberts, J. (Feb. 26, 2015). Zero waste ideas proposed to Gibsons council. Retireved from: https://www.coastreporter.net/news/local-news/zero-waste-ideas-proposed-to-gibsons-council-1.1775449
Shore, R. (July 2, 2019). Garbage the main culprit for B.C. nuisance bears. Retrieved from: https://www.timescolonist.com/news/b-c/garbage-the-main-culprit-for-b-c-nuisance-bears-1.23873004
Smith, B. (Feb. 17, 2019). Salish Soils, a portfolio company of Rhiza Capital. Retrieved from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-F7oLEeS4DQ&feature=emb_logo
Woodrooffe, S. (Oct. 15, 2020) 9.7 tonnes collected in first week of SCRD’s food waste pickup program. Retrieved from: https://www.coastreporter.net/news/local-news/9-7-tonnes-collected-in-first-week-of-scrd-s-food-waste-pickup-program-1.24220973
Woodrooffe, S. (Nov. 21, 2020). Food waste collection adoption climbed to 82% by second week. Retrieved from: https://www.coastreporter.net/news/local-news/food-waste-collection-adoption-climbed-to-82-by-second-week-1.24243022
