Town should encourage water savings, plastic recycling

Posted Feb 2, 2012 By Jim Kowbel

DEAR EDITOR:

I'm a new resident to Carleton Place, as of June 2011.

My questions are an attempt to understand the town's practices as they presently are implemented concerning conservation of resources, charges, fees and taxes.

I'm presently charged a 'flat fee' for both sewage and water usage based upon an arbitrary calculation for one to two people residing at my address. First of all, there is no indication on my bill as to what that represents in actual usage, strictly just a charge for both sewer and water. This would appear to me to open up the possibility of charging any amount the public works department, along with town council, felt was warranted for any reason.

Obviously, as a single resident in my house, I'd probably use less water than two people at the same residence. Your lack of water flow metering discriminates against myself as a single resident and there isn't any transparency concerning such charge for water and sewage.

This continued practice also doesn't give any incentive at all for conservation of water resources and is open to abuse for such charges being arbitrarily assigned. It is also highly discriminatory and penalizes a resident such as myself in more ways than just monetarily.

I feel I'm subsidizing, unfairly, the present system of collection for water used, along with no incentive to save the resource.

I don't understand why only plastics one and two are collected and not three to seven too? It would seem environmentally prudent to make the pickup of numbers three to seven plastics as easy as possible for the taxpayer 'at the curb'.

The province's landfills are already overburdened and the excuse not to pick up these plastics isn't a palatable option, as they (three to seven) will be thrown out in garbage bags or bins. The practice of collecting these plastics presently falls upon the taxpayer with the option to both collect and dispose at the waste management site.

This excuse not to pick up at the curb seems to fly in the face of common sense and is environmentally irresponsible, as I'm sure most, if not all, three to seven plastics go to the landfill site. This would be impossible to verify either way (closed garbage bags).

I understand that these are municipal issues - however, I also understand that the province of Ontario can, and will, assist municipalities in the upgrading of their public works.

I do believe that Carleton Place town council will consider the implementation of environmentally responsible measures that will reflect the taxpayer's wish to be environmentally responsible - however, it can't due to the present current municipal collection of waste and lack of household water flow management practices in Carleton Place.

Yes, I do realize there is a cost associated with environmentally responsible practices. I also believe that the public will want these practices to be implemented. This will and continues to be evident at election times both provincially and municipally.

I think Carleton Place should step up and implement what most Ontario municipalities have already done. It is good for the environment and the right thing to do.

Jim Kowbel

Carleton Place