Dear editor,
I have just been having a conversation with my co-workers — one of whom was raised in Taiwan — about the recycling ‘rules’ in the Comox Valley, specifically, about the hot issue of styrofoam being refused at the local recycling stations.
My co-worker mentioned that styrofoam has been banned in Taiwan since he was in kindergarten (around 1980), particularly for restaurants to serve hot food as takeout. The reason for the ban is not surprising — heat and Styrofoam produce toxins.
Upon my co-worker’s arrival to Canada in 1995, he was shocked to see that restaurants are able and still to this day serve takeout food in Styrofoam containers.
I recall reading in the past 12 months that one of the big box stores in Courtenay wanted (or were announcing that) the recycling bins removed from their property.
When I read this article, I thought that we consumers should boycott purchasing any items from that store for the mere fact that most of the protective packaging stuffed inside of boxes is almost always Styrofoam.
My thoughts are that if a big box store is in the business to sell products, then that business should be the good corporate citizen and gladly collect and be responsible for recycling the packaging on behalf of their customers.
I believe I read that part of the reason for the removal of the bins from the property regarded the unsightly garbage left surrounding the bins.
The reason provided is a poor excuse — because a solution to the ‘mess’ could involve the affected businesses hiring one or two more people to manage the areas surrounding the bins — as we all know the Comox Valley needs to do a better job of creating more jobs to stimulate the economy — this could be part of the business licence agreement.
I’m not sure who is in charge of providing business licences to different food service providers, but I am wondering if it is realistic to create a policy that takeout food cannot be distributed via Styrofoam packaging.
I have to share this story: During the Christmas break, at a recent trip to the recycling bins located behind Zellers in Courtenay, my family had a good laugh as they watched a man struggling to squish a cardboard box into the cardboard-only recycling bin. As he squished the box, one end of the box opened, spilling out the Styrofoam contents.
The funny part that caught my 11-year-old’s attention was that a sign stating ‘styrofoam prohibited’ was blatantly displayed on the cardboard bin.
I’m wondering if the CVRD, Town of Comox and City of Courtenay are in positions to encourage businesses to be responsible business owners by inviting consumers to return packaging to their businesses for proper disposal, rather than putting the onus on the customers to dispose of packaging, particularly Styrofoam.
Alyssa Rennie,
Comox Valley
