In the news recently, we had a little glimpse of what's happening in Quebec: Landfills are soon reaching their full capacity. What will happen next?
In short, we'll need to open new ones, but who wants a landfill site in their city?
That's a good question.
And in the meantime, are there solutions to mitigate this overflow of garbage? Because there are tons of waste to manage, and it's not getting better.
Recycling and composting, they say.
I doubt recycling because it's not necessarily more cheerful in sorting centers.
For one, there are still so many people putting garbage in the recycling, and it ends up in the landfill anyway!
For two, we don't have customers to recycle certain materials. So, we're stuck with them.
In short, it's not a done deal... We should focus on "real" materials that can be recycled locally!
Another solution would be to establish stricter rules for companies that create all this waste that we have to throw away.
SHOULD WE TAX COMPANIES THAT DON'T DO ENOUGH?
In the short term, it seems like a good solution.
"If I, a private company, put a product on the market that won't be recycled in the end, I will be penalized, so I will make sure that what I put on the market will be accepted by sorting centers and ultimately be recycled. So, I will take responsibility."
- Karel Ménard, General Manager, Quebec Common Front for Ecological Waste Management
We would need this or government laws...
DISPOSING OF WASTE: EACH IN THEIR OWN BACKYARD
While we wait for solutions to be discussed and found, let's try to think differently about our waste!
The sentence at the end of the report is priceless:
"We will have to accept the transition from 'Not in my backyard' to 'Each in their own backyard.'"
When I hear that, I literally see everyone burying their waste in their backyard.
Admit that the image is strong!!! Let's assume we live in that world:
- There is no more waste collection.
- We have to take our recycling to designated places, as we do with our cans or batteries.
- Waste and compost must be managed at home; buried in our backyard. No burning allowed!!
Would you pay more attention to the waste you produce if you had to bury it in your backyard?
Well, I would.
We certainly wouldn't see them the same way, and we would probably pay more attention?
And yet, we should see our waste like that. When you think about it for two minutes... It's not magical when we throw something in the trash. We think it disappears, that we get rid of it the second we throw it away, but no. Its life doesn't end in our black bag. It's collected, it still has a long way to go, and it goes to a backyard. Not ours, we say. So, it doesn't matter...
It doesn't matter. We don't care.
We all say that. Since our birth... It's crazy, isn't it?
IN CONCLUSION
For a week, try to imagine yourself in a world where you have to bury all your waste.
Look at your waste differently.
All this plastic...
Does it break your heart as much as mine?
