Garbage

Compost.

Recycle.

Reuse.

minimize use.

Purchase with highest regard to the packaging.

These simple five steps has made our landlord question if we understand the garbage policy in Prince George. Before the end of the year I was walking home from work and I met up with our friendly and ever so helpful landlord. He and I made small talk, talked about things unrealted to our house, just like two men on a street woudl do, and then he let it fly: " um, you know that garbage day is ednesday in the morning....so, I see that....you know you can put it out the night before if you cant make it out in the morning on time....that is ok you know....I noticed that you never really get your garbage out on time...". I tried to explain that we actually knew this and that we were well aware of the fact that the night before is an apt way to meet the stringent deadline of morning collection, but the main point was lost. And today as I gulped my coffee and looked outside I saw all of our neighbours dragging their assigned garbae trolly to the curb. Most, as usual, were overflowing. Overflowing!?!?
We have made a concerted effort to minimize our waste and to support entities that think likewise and who make it easy for us to conserve and limit. The five steps I listed above are all we do. They are simple. We dont put out our garbage. We dont have garbage to put out every week. I treid to explain this to our landlord who, to his great support, was trying to help us. That is true. But I was trying to help him realize that we simply do not amass a bin's worth of waste in one week - I would say that every five weeks is our average, and even then it is not overflowing to the point of the neighbourhood. It is concerning.
It really is.

How can you allow a society to waste so much, to throw out and make (biologically) inert so much material that could assist growth. How can a city survive without realizing that so many people throwing out so much 'stuff' is a highly unsustainable route? Especially in a remote northern city, large enough, but remote enough to realize the reality of our singularity as a city among the rest of nature. Our system is not coherent with the rest of the natural world...yet we maintain wasting everything and being supported. If we need more garbage days, then I am sure we will get them before we get fewer....

...perhaps i'll go on. Not here though. Not now.