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Composting plan based on sound science

City of Victoria going with the times on kitchen waste composting

Re: City’s forced organics recycling program a draconian measure (Letters, Feb. 13)

This letter illustrates a complete ignorance of the broadly based, peer-reviewed science that has, for at least the last 40 years, been the basis of the development of good environmental stewardship.

The writer uses his claim of being a “Christian residential property owner” as a reference point in labelling that research “junk science.”

Sustainability is not some sort of cult. The quest for sustainability is indeed assisted by idealism, but that idealism is not naive; it is founded on a network of respected scientific results in many related scientific disciplines.

It appears, rather, that Mr. Hartnell objects to separating his waste in a responsible manner so that it can be dealt with effectively. Many of us have been doing that willingly for decades, maintaining our own compost boxes.

The stragglers are now being brought into the fold by the city’s new policy of collecting compostable waste and landfill waste separately.

If Mr. Hartnell considered the new organics recycling policy with a little more care, he would thank the city for making his task of being environmentally responsible a little bit easier.

Barrie Webster

Victoria