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Suncoast Pasco News

Surprising

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EARL SHARPE

Published: January 29, 2008

Editor:

In response to your editorial "Which Way?" as a part-time resident of your beautiful state, I am surprised at the lack of recycling, mandatory or otherwise.

I live most of the year in a rural area outside a small town in Nova Scotia where we are required to recycle almost all household and yard waste. There are similar requirements for businesses and such products as gyproc (gypsum board), asphalt shingles, and lumber are also diverted from the landfill.

Incineration is no longer permitted at all. Waste streams for glass, metals, all plastics, and all paper products generate revenue to help pay for waste handling costs including disposal of hazardous waste.

Large scale composting of organic material has produced excellent compost and is another source of revenue.

These programs are not perfect and compliance is not 100 percent, but the gains are not limited to the direct cost benefits or the environmental aspects.

They also foster a change in attitude about how we generate and handle all our waste and how we treat our environment in a broader sense.

Earl Sharpe
Bayonet Point

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