by Emily Hunter, Contributing Writer for AnaiRhoads.org
AnaiRhoads.org -- The buzz word around Toronto for the past two weeks has been none other than the word garbage. The garbage that is pilling up around public canisters into miniature CN Towers. The garbage that is filling parks and arenas a quarter full arousing smells and attracting pests to local neighbors. And the garbage Torontonians are becoming hostile over with our celebratory mess in Pride Parade and Canada Day.
It is day 12 of a public workers strike in Toronto and already there are signs of our 'livable-city' Utopia coming crashing down as garbage stinks up our homes, city and attitudes. Some argue the city is keeping well. But like all things under smoldering summer heat, it can only keep so long until it ferments. This summer Torontonians will need to face a problem, outside of unions and the economy, but in the very bins outside our houses - our waste.
According to The Toronto Star, Ontario produces 12.4 million tones of garbage annually. That is the equivalent weight of more than 80,000 fully loaded Boeing 707 jetliners. Out of that, only 3 million tones (20 percent) of garbage is diverted into recycled goods despite our progressive recycling system. In 20 years time many of Ontario landfills will reach full capacity.
Much of our waste is plastic water bottles, packaging and coffee cups. In Toronto alone, there are 1 million plastic water bottles discarded daily and another 1 million in coffee cups, says The Star.
But we can't blame Starbucks and the Coca-Cola water brand Dasani for this, we are the consumers creating this waste. And while climate change is the umbrella issue of our time, there are other issues that get veiled over. Like the big smelly elephant in the room that nobody likes talking about - our consumption and waste!
This summer we have an opportunity in Toronto and elsewhere to unveil our elephant, clean it up and put it on a greatly needed Jenny Craig diet.
As an individual, there are numerous ways to reduce and even make our personal elephants livable near our homes. Adria Vasil writes in her EcoHolics coulomb ways to do this, including: composting, going meat-free, package-free, as well as things we commonly don't think about - separating our condoms and hygiene products.
GarbageRevolution.com is a film and website that experiments with keeping ones garbage for an extended period of time to assess our individual garbage output.
With our larger societal garbage, there are numerous ways we can redirect our waste into more useful means outside of dumpsites, which would make for elephant evolution. Treehugger.com reports that Broward County, Florida for example is using garbage as a resource in waste-based energy production - creating alternatives for our energy crisis.
While Houston's Waste Management will be converting garbage into fuel and electricity with waste gasification in a joint venture with InEnTec, says Kevin Bulls in Technology Review.
Hence, there are plenty of ways of slimming down and transforming our elephant's bod. But the one thing we can't do is continue to think of garbage as a simple summer inconvenience with the public workers strike. Otherwise we will literally sink communities and the oceans with 'Timmy's' cups. Let's be bold and face our own stink.
Emily Hunter is an environmental journalist that resides in Toronto, Canada. She is the MTV News Canada eco-correspondent and THIS Magazine online's chief eco-blogger.
