September 25, 2007
Dear Chair and members of Council,
In an effort to create as many opportunities as possible to keep materials from the dump, Tweed Green-Up has another suggestion – the Curbside Free-For-All. This initiative would only work in town where I understand garbage is picked up on Fridays. In short, the idea would be that two weeks a year, perhaps Spring and Fall, residents would be invited to put unwanted, useable items out on the curb, say on Tuesday. Between then and Friday, the public could tour the neighborhoods in search of treasures which they could pick up for free without embarrassment or need to get permission from homeowners. This already happens unofficially across the country, so why not make it easier for people and incorporate it into Tweed’s official waste diversion plan?
Since getting rid of furniture, construction materials etc. involves a trip to the dump and a fee, hopefully residents would feel motivated to haul itema out to the curb in the hopes that someone else would consider it a treasure and happily take it away for them. If not, the worst case scenario is that they would have to take it to the dump themselves, which is what they were going to have to do anyway. While there is no charge for small appliances, it still involves a trip to the dump, so once again hopefully the idea that someone else might take it away for them, would be reason enough to bring it out to the curbside. Resale shops like Hidden Treasures, the Salvation Army, and even antique dealers could be especially encouraged to check out the goods.
Some years ago the city of Kingston apparently implemented an idea similar to this but recently discontinued the program. Since the municipality doesn’t seem to remember doing it at all, our best information comes courtesy of the Kingston family members of our municipal staff who said the city stopped the program because their policy was to pick up all the leftovers, which meant an added expense to their budget. For that reason, as I mentioned, Tweed residents would be required to dispose of unclaimed items themselves, as is currently the case.
To implement this idea, there are many logistical issues which would need to be addressed. For example, it would seem to make sense to eliminate major appliances like stoves, washers, dryers, water-tanks, toilets, sinks, bathtubs, and mattresses from the endless list of things which could be put out on the curb. These items would be hard to move and it would be difficult for scavenger hunters to determine if they really worked. Perhaps homeowners could put out a sign saying these types of items were available in working condition, and invite those interested to knock on their door.
It would also make sense to give homeowners a deadline as to when things not snatched up would have to be removed from their curbside, say by Saturday night. Residents could also be encourage to take the items to resale shops rather than to the dump.
If adopted, an idea such as this could be expanded to include our larger area. After this meeting I will be rushing to Madoc for the Comfort Country Summit where I am going to suggest that our towns work together to not only offer visitors the respite of green countrysides but also environmentally green communities by sharing plans and ideas for a more sustainable future. For example, if every town in Comfort Country adopted the Curbside Free-For-All during the same weeks, it would surely lead to increased visitors and much less material going to all dumps. And if all our towns participated in the Great Canadian Shoreline Clean-up on the body of water in their community, it might garner wider publicity possibilities and present our communities as places where we truly care about our environment and the world we are leaving our children.
Thank you very much for your time in considering this idea. We look forward to hearing from you and offering any support you might require.
Sincerely,
Denice Wilkins
Chair, Tweed Green-Up
Getting TWEED GREEN from the grassroots UP!
Update from Denice:
I feel we received a very positive response from Council on our delegation. Joanne Albert said the idea would be discussed with the Infrastructure Committee and that she would get back to us.
1 Comment
February 3, 2008 at 7:53 pm
[...] Tweed Green-Up wrote to the Tweed Council to propose a Curbside Free-for-All (see that submission here), to facilitate the transfer of unwanted usable items to goo homes instead of landfill. The [...]