About a hundred years ago, someone said they should look at an alternative to dumping garbage wherever they could. They envisioned garbage pickup and taking it to a central dump and cleaning up the towns and cities. There were people who asked who was going to pay for it and how could you ever get a vehicle big enough to haul garbage. They said “what’s wrong with the way things are right now?” That was about a hundred years ago.
We are now at the same pivotal point in our history as we were a hundred years ago. What do we do with our garbage? In our lifetime we have taken garbage removal, city dumps and sewage as a fact of life. But with our ever-expanding population, lack of space and greenhouse gas issues, we have to “invent” a better solution just as throwing garbage and sewage out our windows had to change.
We are experimenting with recycling, composting and land fill and it’s a good beginning, but we need to go further. Monday’s city council meeting heard a presentation for St. Albert’s own Utilities Corporation. One feature of our own corporation is to go to the next step in handling waste by turning it into energy, among other solutions. The presentation talked about a gradual rollout with comparing other attempts in other communities, using emerging technologies and being fiscally responsible.
The critics are going to complain about rising costs and tax dollars and probably things we haven’t thought of as yet, but the bottom line is … what are we going to do with our garbage?
Let’s think about where we were a hundred years ago and where we want to be a hundred years from now. Remember Heraclitus who said in 500 BC, “the only thing that is constant is change.” The date may not be entirely accurate and Heraclitus may not be a household name, but the theory holds true.
We have to change something with our waste and if it costs us a few bucks, our next generation will appreciate us for having the foresight.
Ian Harris, St. Albert
