Stir It Up!
Although this concept is by no means original (we can learn from and adapt practises already in place in much of Europe), I propose municipal composting; specifically, a program called Stir it Up. Composting is by no means a new idea. Talk to any farmer who, after harvesting his grain crop, plows the stalks back into the land. The refuse enriches the soil. In the city, too much of what would easily break down and return to soil – wilted lettuce leaves, carrot peels, hair, nail clippings, for example – is encased in plastic bags which don’t break down at all easily. Our landfills are filled with things which would be better put to use elsewhere. In this case, food for soil (which is certainly more natural than some of the chemicals we pour on our gardens). Residents with homes have the option of composting, but those of us living in condominiums or apartments do not. Let’s put our household organic refuse into our green spaces instead of wrapping everything in plastic and wasting landfill space. Calgary is rife with green spots; parks large and small. Walking is increasingly part of our culture. We could easily place a compost collection bin at every green spot. I’ll happily walk a few blocks with my little pail of coffee grounds and dead leaves from plants to deposit such items in the bin. Compost needs to be dampened and stirred on a regular basis. How hard could it be to design a bin with a stirring mechanism which activates the addition of a bit of water? We deposit organic materials and give the thing a stir every time we add something. Stir it up! The resulting natural fertilizer could of course by used by the City of Calgary gardeners, but I suspect any number of residents would also be glad to likewise enrich their household plants and gardens.