Dear editor,
Re: Rural garbage collection referendum.
So, we are to have rural garbage collection referendum in the next few weeks, and the way it is being presented it sounds like it is a done deal before we even cast a vote.
A poll (so it claimed) determined over 70 per cent of those polled are for it.
What poll was that? I wasn’t aware of one, and no one I have talked to was aware of it either. This has come as a complete surprise (and an unpleasant one at that).
Those in Area A who want garbage pickup pay privately and are generally pleased with the quality and flexibility of the service. Those who prefer to handle it on their own do so.
This is called freedom of choice. Remember that principle? It is becoming less and less well-known in today’s world.
I take my household garbage and recycling every four or five weeks to the Cumberland dump (along with other junk that may have built up over that time — garbage that wouldn’t be part of the pickup program).
At the dump, I dutifully sort out the recycling and put the garbage items into the appropriate places — for the cost of $4. So, for less than $50 a year I take care of all my household garbage.
This works well for me and is convenient and flexible.
Under the new system, I would be expected to walk up a very steep driveway to put ‘one bucket only’ on the shoulder of the Island Highway on a weekly basis, in all weather. To me this is extremely inconvenient and I would still have to make regular dump runs with my other garbage.
It is a service that I doubt I would ever use.
So I ask myself, “Why should I have to pay for something that is much more expensive and very inconvenient; if used at all?”
If this is passed I will be faced with a new added expense (let’s call it a ‘garbage tax’). This is not good news for those who are on a fixed income.
Remember, opting out will NOT be allowed! Freedom of choice — what was that?
Gary Dane,
Union Bay
