07-14-2023, 03:14 PM
Given the number of 40+ storey towers in various stages of proposal/approval/construction in Kitchener, I am wondering about impact on waste management, organic waste in particular. The hue and cry about extending the lifespan of our landfill and achieving waste diversion seems at odds with the lack of organics collection options in multi-residential buildings. I'm a tenant in a large complex and have, for five years, been creeping out under cover of darkness along side streets to put our kitchen scraps in one of the neighbourhood green bins. A while back, I called the Region to ask if there is any kind of central or public collection option for people in my predicament, and was told I was doing what they'd recommend anyway, only maybe approach a homeowner and personally ask to use their green bin instead of the stealth approach. Or, if I was inclined, I could pay $12 to personally take my organics to the landfill, if home composting wasn't feasible. This is a lot of rigmarole that I know the average tenant in a multi-residential building would be unwilling to take on, and going by the stench of the garbage molok at my building alone, there is a lot of organic waste being unnecessarily dumped in whatever landfill our stuff is carted to. And now, I see the potentially thousands of occupants of new high-rise towers contributing to the issue.