i howl and i whine...

Get a load of this.

Battling the bottles

Basically, this article includes a bunch of restaurateurs whining about the burden of the LCBO's new Bag it Back recycling program. The process of separating wine bottles from their regular recycling and then driving them to their nearest return depot will cause extra work. I have two things to say.

#1 The restaurant business is one of the toughest out there. I have tremendous respect for people in this industry. On the other hand, anyone who owns their own business has to understand that things constantly change. If you can't adapt and deal with it, you're in the wrong business. Go work for someone who will take care of the tough stuff for you.

#2 If business and industry refuse to do their part to reduce waste, we might as well just blow up our planet now. I firmly believe that as individual citizens we have the power to make a positive impact on the environment. But business and industry have the power to impact change on a huge scale in a shorter amount of time. By developing programs such as the LCBO's Bag it Back program, industry is making positive strides to reverse the damage we've done to our planet. If restaurants don't participate, this program ceases to be beneficial to our environment.

As far as I'm concerned, it's up to every single one of us to do our part for the environment. From recycling to composting, from waste reduction to using energy efficient appliances, these small changes, no matter how much extra work they create, can positively impact the world in which we live. So to those restaurateurs who think this is too much work, get over it! Our planet needs your cooperation. As human beings, it's part of your job.

everything old is new again

Finally!

Starting February 5, 2007, Ontario residents will be able to return their empty wine and liquor containers (that's glass bottles, plastic bottles (PET), Tetra Pak containers, bag-in-box, aluminum and steel containers) to their local Beer Store in exchange for their deposit. The idea is twofold. The first is to keep these bottles out of the landfill (yes, some still need the monetary incentive to recycle). The second is, by pulling these bottles out of our blue boxes, to allow the municipalities to expand the variety of items they can recycle.

So all we have to do is save up our bottles and take them to the Beer Store, just like we've been doing with our beer bottles for decades. Yes, we'll be paying an extra 20 cents for a bottle of wine, but we'll get the full deposit back. When they make it this easy, how can you not participate?

bagitback.ca