Re: Composting plan based on sound science (Letters, Feb. 20)
This is not a matter of “stragglers being brought into the fold,” as Barrie Webster puts it, but the city forcing a bad system of collection on taxpayers.
The pails are dangerous and spring open with such force they could break fingers. Did anyone at the city examine them before accepting them, or consider people with arthritis or disabilities? Workers’ compensation claims from people using them in other jurisdictions?
People who have composted for years don’t want the pails and they sit empty in their yards. Plus, the special compostable bags cost around $7 for 20 or so bags. They are designed to dissolve and they do – as I have transferred them into the bins, they have fallen apart, leaving a mess on the ground. We will have rotting garbage for two weeks now, attracting rodents and racoons.
Not only that, I’ve heard the new garbage trucks are causing problems. After they lift the containers to a laying down position, the sticky bags won’t roll out into the truck, leading workers to push the button repeatedly to try and shake it out. Hence, the process is inefficient and takes twice as long to complete.
Overall it’s an ill-thought out expense for taxpayers and half the service as before.
Jackie Pickard
Victoria