Editor, The News:
I disagree with the proposal to provide residential garbage collection in Maple Ridge. As a volunteer in starting the recycling movement in Maple Ridge in 1972, myself and numerous others have put literally blood, sweat and tears into reducing the amount of ‘garbage’ in the waste stream.
When Maple Ridge had the landfill on Cottonwood Drive, one of the biggest incentives to our recycling operations came when a tipping fee was introduced to those using the landfill. This became a positive in that recycling was free, but you pay to get rid of garbage.
As we progressed in the development of recycling to curbside pickup in 1980, anyone wanting to dispose of garbage, either by collection or at the landfill, had to look after it themselves, whereas the recycling society helped you if you recycled. This was a very positive and progressive stance in Maple Ridge, and continues to this day.
The idea is to eliminate waste completely, and continue to keep materials in the loop, and use them as a resource, rather than have them become a problem as leachate in landfills or hazardous gases and bottom ash from incinerators.
Adding garbage collection to our taxes flies in the face of all that we have been working for in Maple Ridge and elsewhere in waste disposal. This only makes it easier for the individual to send more trash to the landfill/incinerator rather than take responsibility for their own waste.
The Ridge Meadows Recycling Society has the most comprehensive recycling operation in B.C., and the residents here are able to recycle most of their waste either at curbside or at the depot. There is no need to introduce another tax on our citizens that we neither need or want.
David Koehn
past president Ridge Meadows Recycling Society