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Double bagging has its benefits

I would just like to say how nice it is to see people getting involved in earth day activities and making a solid effort to reduce and reuse.

I would just like to say how nice it is to see people getting involved in earth day activities and making a solid effort to reduce and reuse. It can indeed be a rewarding thing to do. However I would also like to point out that too much of anything isn’t necessarily a good thing. I’m referring to the idea doing away with plastic bags for yard waste and garbage bags for regular garbage. I have just moved to Hope from Surrey where they have done just that and I’m not so sure it would be a good thing for Hope. The plastic bag liners have a double purpose. Firstly they keep the garbage can clean from debris and rotting material that could be a potential health concern for the community. In Surrey they allow as many garbage cans as you like for yard waste but they are expensive and take up a lot of space so most people only keep two for yard waste and two for regular garbage.  The worst part about this program is having garbage cans that smell of compost around everyone’s home, then having to clean up the mess left behind by collectors when grass cuttings don’t make it into the truck. The smell of compost fills the air on garbage day when the truck comes by, because yard waste has been rotting in plastic cans waiting for pick up and unwrapped waste in the truck allows you to smell the truck before you hear it coming. Also, paper yard bags fall apart when they get wet and this will leave a mess for the homeowner to clean up.

The second purpose of bag liners is to help stop odours. If kitchen garbage is no longer double bagged with the common black garbage bags, I would predict Hope will be having  a lot more problems with bears and raccoons in the near future.

A. McMillan