There goes the neighbourhood

Calgary is going to be issuing black garbage bins similar to the blue recycle bins that were distributed last year. The idea is that eventually, Calgarians will only be allowed to dispose of what can fit into that black bin. Any extra bags left out will cost the homeowner an extra $2.30 per bag. The black bins are bigger than the blue ones, so the city feels that 80%+ of the residents will be well served. The city is also considering giving residents the option to request a smaller black bin if that's all that they need - the idea being that perhaps those folks can pay a lesser garbage collection fee on their utility bill each month.

While this might all sound good on paper, I've gotten feedback from people in other parts of the country who have to pay extra beyond a certain quota of bags. The essence of their complaint is that if I have more garbage bags than I'm allowed to put out, nothing's to stop me from dumping those extra bags beside someone else's garbage bins under cover of darkness. I just basically move my problem onto someone else's property.

So while I applaud the city for trying to get residents to reduce their garbage output, this plan is not without its problems.

I also predict that if someone were to sell a garbage compactor device, they might make a small fortune in this city.