Toronto does recycling better

One baby bin at a time

Last week I asked my editor, John, if he had culture shock coming back to the States after two weeks in Germany. He replied, "Yes, they just do some things better."

I didn't ask him to elaborate on what things they were doing better but this simple phrase resonated with me the whole weekend I spent in Toronto. From the first baby trashcan I saw.

Baby what?

Miniature green "trash" cans were visible from houses and businesses throughout the fashion district in downtown Toronto where we stayed. I have a habit of calling anything miniature "baby." I also refer to any type of dog as a baby. Mostly said in a high-pitched, Janis from "Friends" voice. "It's a baby." You get the point.

Back to the trash cans. If you are from Toronto or even Canada, at this point you are very likely thinking, "IT IS NOT A TRASH CAN!" Yes, I know that now. They are food composting green bins.

In addition to the green bin, there is also a blue bin that collects recyclables. So many bins! So much recycling, reusing and reducing!

They are doing it better.

When we bought our house in a suburb outside Detroit almost four years ago, I was so excited to finally have a single-stream recycling bin. I even made time to go to city hall and buy a new one because the previous owners must have took theirs with them.

The concept of curbside material and food recycling sort of blew my mind. It's not that I didn't know it was happening, but seeing it in action was inspiring.

It is a commitment and from our visit to Toronto, it seemed that the city has figured this out. My cousin and her family (Hi Tara, Mark, Henry & Jake!) live two kilometers outside of the city. After living there for more than three years, she said she finally has all the bins and their collection times down and gave me her recycling calendar that visually represents what bin is picked up when.

Did you notice in the photo that the regular gray trash can is picked up biweekly (see calendar above)? I've had weeks at my household, two adults and three dogs (yep, we are outnumbered by ... wait for it ... babies!) when we've had more than a one full garbage container.

It's not just residential either. One of the reasons we were in Toronto was to attend the Honda Indy at Exhibition Place race. The bins were clearly marked and definitely put to good use.

The garbage and recycling containers had a lever at the bottom you could push with your foot to open the lid. This was fabulous; it meant I didn't have to touch anything yucky. If we aren't going to compost food scraps anytime soon, can we at least get some of those lever-action bins in Detroit?

The bottom line is, when it comes to recycling, Toronto is doing it way better than Detroit and most of the United States.

 

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