Recycling and Rinsing in Canada

I know. Recycling in Canada, not exactly a hot topic. But I feel my marveling needs to be shared.

I have marveled about Canada before in a post a while back. How, way out in the middle of no where, they had single stream recycling pick up... in the middle of the night. Yes they still do it, and I still find it fascinating.

On a recent return to the same "in the middle of no where" place on the very, very tip of Gaspe Peninsula, I was once again surprised by the effort the government makes to promote recycling.

I took a day trip to Forillon National Park which is not only famous for its spectacular topography, but is said to be the beginning of the Appalachian Ridge as it rises out of the ocean. And spectacular it is.

There are lots of scenic vantage points and areas to park and picnic. As an aside, it was wonderful to see so many families taking their picnicking seriously, bottle of wine and all.

So when you are finished with that bottle of wine, what does any good Canadian citizen do?  Why, recycle it of course.  And what does the good Canadian government ask the recycler to do?  Why, rinse it out of course. To top if off, you aren't left scratching your head trying to figure out just how you are going to "rinse it out". Miracles of miracles, a deep sink is provided, out in the middle of no where.

I suppose water conservationists may question this practice, asking if it is really necessary, or how much does food waste really contaminate the recycling process? Some recycling processes really don't need even sticky peanut butter removed. But the other reason might be keeping the small and big varmints at bay. (This includes bears.) Whatever the reason, I was impressed with this recycling set-up...out in the middle of no where.

Gaspe Peninsula, still part of Quebec, is a little bigger than Massachusetts with a population of less than 100,000. The biggest city is Gaspe, with a whopping population of over 14,000.  It is so spectacular that the National Geographic rated Gaspe as one of the top 20 places in the entire world to see in 2011. Not to shabby, eh?

Forillon National Park was a joy to experience. I applaud Canada for its efforts, even down to the sink to rinse out your containers. If you are looking for a unique, very remote (yes, way the heck up there), consider the Forillon area in Gaspe. You won't be disappointed.

Canada IS Greener

My view is delightfully different right now-Maine harbor view, tide rolling in, gulls laughing and a gentle warm breeze-perfection.


After mountains, potato farms, tree farms (Irving owns millions of acres for wood pulp production for virgin toilet and tissue paper etc., another blog entry...), wilderness and hundreds of kilometers of rugged coastline, we arrived at the very tip of Gaspe Peninsula- Land's End in local Micmac. Gaspe, the city, has about 15,000 folks and the rest of the peninsula is dotted with villages and isolated homes along the coast. We were about one hour south of Gaspe, looking out on the endless Atlantic ocean, in what seemed like the middle of no where.

Yet despite this isolation, we had two blue large 60 gallon recycling totes and one green garbage totes, none of those small bins-they meant business. All of the recycling went into the one tote, all mixed-how civilized. Garbage pickup was Tuesday night, recycling was Wednesday night.

That was the neatest thing of all. The pick up is done during the night. That way the crews don't have to worry about traffic (yes, traffic-only one road around the rim of Gaspe), kids, dogs and bicyclists and can zip through their job. Zip they did and how efficient it was. They had big lights on their vehicles and keep in mind, they do this all winter long. Food for thought for other communities.

We started the week with three days of solid rain but when that rain stopped, and even before the sun shown, out came the laundry hung to dry, dotted all across the landscape. (remember dryers are the second energy hog in the house) It was in stark contrast to our lifestyle. And it was beautiful. All sorts of colors flapping in the breeze, one load after another. Nothing fancy, usually just a pulley and a line. Bravo.

So what else is it about this neck of the woods that makes it seem greener? To summarize it-simplicity. The houses and cars are smaller- more motorcycles were being used. Gasoline was over $5.oo per gallon. The lawns are smaller, few riding lawn mowers around. And no silly irrigation systems. More cloth shopping bags though less shopping and eating out in general. Heck, there's just no place to go, and how wonderful it was. And yet, they get by, we got by and everyone seemed happy too.

Canada and its citizens should be happy. Canada has the lowest unemployment rate in 30 years and all the Provinces are in a surplus. That's right, the country is in a surplus. Yes they pay higher taxes but at least they manage their money properly. And Canada has its eye on being greener too with commitment to action to boot. Canada is taking the leadership role for educating and encouraging their citizens to do better. The National Website is loaded with good information, all coming from the top down. Canada has been a world leader when it comes to chemical precaution, not caving to special interest groups. They know all of this will pay off in the long run- economically and environmentally.

So, the answer is yes- my humble opinion is that Canada trumps its southern neighbors in greenness. As is true where ever you are, you can stand to learn a lot from your neighbors.