Dear Editor,

Why bother to separate garbage from recycling, and organics from both? These are questions I encounter from time to time. Some insist that the recycling “all gets thrown into the garbage anyway”. I don’t have the resources to follow the trucks to see exactly where each waste stream goes, and I don’t believe you do either.  But I do see that the roadsides are less cluttered with trash than before. That makes for a better world, I think. 

Some say, “Just bury it all, we’ll mine it later.” One problem with that approach is, the big hole where the trash is stashed is getting full, and nobody seems interested in having such a hole in their backyard. So, separating recyclable materials out of the garbage stream will make the hole last longer. 

Even more important is to separate the organic matter out of the garbage and the recycling streams. Organic matter, when wrapped in plastic and buried along with garbage under pressure, generates methane, which is poisonous to breathe and is a major cause of climate change. Organic material, be it kitchen waste or kitty litter, grass clippings or dirty diapers, can all be composted, with a soil amendment as the product. So, why bother? Just because it will make our world a better place to live. I hope that’s motivation enough for you. 

Robert Wills, Shawville and Thorne