The Editor,
Last year, the city of Port Moody made it easy for residents to start composting. But what about businesses?
Many in Newport Village, where I work, don't even recycle paper, let alone dispose properly of their organic waste. Perhaps not everyone is aware that when you throw organic waste such as food in the garbage, that food ends up in the landfill, which in turn gives off methane, a greenhouse gas 20 times worse than carbon dioxide.
If any real impact is to be made, the city needs to bring composting to all businesses, as the waste we produce at home is miniscule in comparison to that of restaurants and other businesses. The average person composting at home reduces roughly 30 lb. of carbon dioxide output per month. Just imagine how much output could be reduced by a restaurant each month, considering that everything on your plate is compostable, even the napkins.
So why doesn't the city offer composting to businesses? It's not in their budget, I was told, and won't be for at least two years.
In the meantime, I'm trying to do my part. So at Beadworks, where I work, some of us now bring our organic waste home with us to put it where it belongs: in the compost bin.
Hopefully, this letter will inspire others to do the same while we wait for the city to catch up.
Shyanne Visram,Port Moody
