The best way to encourage people to do something like recycle is to make it as easy as possible for them.
No one wants to spend any more time doing a tedious chore like sorting recyclable materials when they could be doing anything else.
The more complicated or time-consuming a task becomes, the fewer people are likely to be bothered to do it. That means a lot of recyclable materials will end up with the rest of the garbage.
So town council's recent decision to introduce a curbside recycling program ó at no additional cost to taxpayers no less ó should, for the most part, be a welcome one.
For town residents, that means fewer or perhaps even no more trips to the recycling depot. It also means all they'll have to do is separate garbage from all other recyclable materials.
No more sorting paper from cardboard from tins from plastics from glass. Just dump all the recyclable materials into the blue bin and voila!
It doesn't get much easier than that.
Employees from the company contracted to do the work will collect the materials in the bins and haul the contents to a central location for sorting.
Not only will this service come at no extra cost for taxpayers, it could potentially represent a modest savings for the town. The program is expected to roll out either this spring or early summer.
During council's discussion on the issue at its Dec. 14 meeting, Victor Pirie, director of finance and administration, said that other municipalities that have implemented curbside recycling programs have found that the amount of garbage going to the landfill was reduced substantially, which in turn reduced their tipping costs. So administration anticipates the annual operating cost to be recovered through reduced tonnage going into the landfill, he said.
Additionally, waiting until spring or early summer to roll out the carts will give administration time to hopefully further reduce the program's cost by applying for potential grants, administrator Dave Dubauskas told the Round Up. He added there will also be public sessions to inform people what counts as recyclable materials that can go in the blue bins.
Let's review.
The new recycling program comes at no extra cost to residents, it will make it easier for people to recycle and thus reduce the amount of recyclable materials thrown out with the rest of the garbage, which in turn will reduce the amount the town spends on tipping fees at the landfill while extending its lifespan.
Sounds like a win-win situation.
