What can be done to reduce the amount of landfill and make Ottawa a more environmentally responsible city when it comes to garbage?
A. The city of Ottawa has a tremendous opportunity to enhance its image as a world-class city in dealing with its garbage problems. The idea of expanding existing landfills is a short-sighted solution that only serves to pass the problem on to future decision-makers. Instead, the city should also invest in new technologies. For example, incinerators using special filtering processes have been successful in solving the garbage problems faced by other countries without adverse effects on air quality. Investments of this kind would improve the quality of life for residents living near landfill sites and would drastically reduce the city’s impact on the environment, which would benefit everyone. It is this kind of forward thinking the city needs to deal with its garbage problems, not the same old answers proposed by others. I am also in favor of increasing the city’s investment in recycling programs and doing everything possible to divert waste away from landfill sites.
