687 replies to this topic

[Mike K.]

Weird, hey? Why can’t grass clippings be mixed with uneaten lettuce?

[Nparker]

...Why can’t grass clippings be mixed with uneaten lettuce?

Makes them harder to sell at places like Farmacy and Trees.

[todd]

https://www.youtube....bed/mnIem72UOFY

[todd]

Weird, hey? Why can’t grass clippings be mixed with uneaten lettuce?

 

Just gotta walk it through the kitchen.

[mbjj]

One of my pet peeves in Victoria is trying to get rid of garden waste. Every few weeks we have to load up our small car with either bags or bins of prunings and drive over to Garbally Road. Does Helps expect us to do that on a bike I wonder? My friend in Ontario gets garden waste picked up at least once a month and when I investigated other places in Canada, they do likewise. Victoria has that one puny pickup around February when either not much has grown yet or it's the wrong time of year to prune certain shrubs. It's really pathetic for the "City of Gardens". We have a huge compost bin for all the grass, weeds, dead flowers etc. but shrubs grow quickly here.

[Bob Fugger]

Weird, hey? Why can’t grass clippings be mixed with uneaten lettuce?

 

Having been responsible for setting up and executing the original food waste collection pilots in Oak Bay and View Royal back in 2007, I can tell you with some authority that source segregating organic waste leaves you more composting options on the back end.

 

Food waste and garden waste tend to decompose at different rates, so you need to mix a very specific (to conditions) formula of food/garden/wood waste to get an even cook on the compost.  For aerobic decomposition methods, too much garden and wood waste and your hedgerows will catch fire.  Too much food waste and it won't cook enough and you'll still have the pathogens that you're trying to cook out - plus, it stinks.  And I don't believe that you can commingle at all for anaerobic decomposition.

 

The reason that the City won't pickup garden waste is precisely because we are a city of avid gardeners.  Providing a service like this would be extremely costly.  It won't just be Johnny Rockland and Jenny Fernwood hauling the occasional station wagon full of weeds, prunings and leaves - you'll get commercial customers.  So instead of me paying my gardener to haul away my lawn clippings, I'll save the dosh and tell them to stuff it all into my green bin.  You're essentially subsidizing private business - that's not a comment on whether that's good or bad, it's just how it is.

[Mike K.]

No kidding. Thanks for that!

[todd]

Why/how does Saanich do it?

[Bob Fugger]

Why/how does Saanich do it?

 

Good question: unlike the rest of the CRD, Saanich sends their organics to the Fisher Road facility in Cobble Hill, rather than the transfer station at Hartland Landfill and then shipped off-Island.  Perhaps their method allows to factor in for commingling?  The other reason is that unlike Victoria, Saanich has a full-time yard waste facility at their public works yard; and the cost of allowing yard waste is more than offset by operational costs of the yard?

 

FUN FACT: Johnny Rockland was one of the founding members of the Tinto Rocks, until he was kicked out because his addiction to Victoria Creams spiralled out of control.  I think he's doing low budget adult films under the same handle.

[Bingo]

Why/how does Saanich do it?

 

Why doesn't the City of Victoria do it, they figured out a way to get sewage to run uphill to Hartland.

[tjv]

^that's the CRD that is doing that

[LJ]

Langford picks up garden waste once a month if you subscribe to the service.

[jonny]

The sales pitch we have gotten on recycling sure doesn't sound so rosy today. I wonder what the picture for the CRD is? I know the recycling at my condo is usually super contaminated.

https://fivethirtyei...impression=true

[Mike K.]

Glass recycling is literally ending for multi-unit buildings due to contamination. The CRD, however, continues its curbside pick-ups, but who knows where it’s actually ending up.

[UrbanRail]

We just bought a condo, and we were given notice that glass is no longer being picked up and that we should take the glass to recycling centres. The problem is the recycling centres only accept drinking glass containers. They said we can toss the glass into the garbage which defeats the purpose of recycling and reducing waste in the first place. I was told there is no market for recycled glass.... yet many products are packaged in glass, like pickles, oil, jam etc. These items are nearly impossible to find in plastic. 

[Cats4Hire]

I was told there is no market for recycled glass.... yet many products are packaged in glass, like pickles, oil, jam etc. These items are nearly impossible to find in plastic. 

I'm not sure from who but someone told my dad it's because it's cheaper and more environmentally friendly to make new glass than to recycle it. A quick Google search does confirm this but I'm no expert so take with a grain of salt (or sand) https://lifeusustain...-recycle-glass/

[Mike K.]

Most of the glass that is recycled is used for sandblasting purposes and as fill.

[Coreyburger]

The sales pitch we have gotten on recycling sure doesn't sound so rosy today. I wonder what the picture for the CRD is? I know the recycling at my condo is usually super contaminated.

https://fivethirtyei...impression=true

 

We're quite good apparently. There was a CRD staff report in the fall that said our recycling is pretty clean in the region and we are still finding markets where others are struggling.

[Mike K.]

Seems odd, doesn’t it, that single family homes would practice such cleanliness while condo and apartment residents no longer qualify for the service?

Is the CRD’s recycling another aspect of the local government that needs to be independently assessed?

[Rob Randall]

Condo and apartment recycling dumpsters are terrible. The amount of contamination is awful. It makes you think why bother--just send the whole works to the dump.