by Monika Lunio
The first time I set eyes on Almonte, was in the summer of 2010 and I fell instantly in love with the town and the surrounding community. It was breathtaking scenery, the falls were what cinched it for me, and the cleanliness of the town was welcoming and serene. Coming from a bustling city in the Prairies to a quaint, historic town was like coming to the quietness of your home after a crazy day at the office. This is where we were going to raise our kids, I decided and sure enough, 4 years later we packed up all of our belongings and headed East to start our new lives in a town called Almonte, Ontario.
What I didn’t know and didn’t see at the time was the “dirty little secret” that hangs over the numerous neighborhoods that make up our little town. A secret that is handed down and made to seem alright because as I’ve been told numerous times “everyone does it and has been doing it for some time!”.
In the age of “environmentally friendly” and “Save the Planet” it’s a shame to witness neighbors dumping illegally on undeveloped land. Its organic waste so its “okay” to dump because it will decompose and where else am I supposed to put it? Let it be someone else’s problem, whether “they” be the town or a private development company. The thing is, its NOT OKAY:
1) It’s illegal – persons caught dumping illegally can be charged with a $500 fine
2) Not everything being dumped is decomposable, organic nor safe – some things take a very long time to decompose and only under the correct circumstances (being mixed regularly and having worms introduced to eat and break down said items)
3) It’s an absolute eyesore and in my opinion, makes our neighborhoods look shabby and dirty.
Our kids are taught in school to take care of Mother Nature because if we don’t, we won’t have a planet to live on and yes, this won’t happen for many, many years to come but we have to start somewhere. What kind of mixed message are you sending to your children when they witness you dumping your unwanted waste on empty land? What are you teaching them because kids learn by example? In school they see recycling programs, their peers walking around with garbage bags, picking up garbage off the playgrounds and our streets and yet here they see their parents/grand parents, dumping leaves, tree trimmings, plastic planters with chemically fertilized dead plants, used pumpkins, tires, animal bones, chewed up dog toys…and the list goes on and on, on another person’s property.
I would also like to address the Mississippi Mills Township and ask why Almonte and Pakenham do not have curbside green bin collection? Our municipal leaders need to take note and address the situation at hand. I would also propose Yard Waste Collection be done every 2 weeks during the spring, summer and fall months and not only twice a year. I believe having this type of service would alleviate or all together stop the illegal dumping that I’ve witnessed in our neighborhood and help keep it clean, as it will give people a place to take their yard waste.
The point is that we need to be accountable for our actions. We need to look at the bigger picture and stop living just for “I” and realize that there is a WE! This is a space (neighborhood) that belongs to all of us and as a unit, we should all share the responsibility of keeping it clean and safe for ourselves as well as for our kids and pets. It’s also about RESPECT. Respect for yourself, other people’s property but most importantly for the community you live in. It’s our planet, we only have one, so why not rethink were we dump our so called “organic” waste and start our journey to a cleaner community.
Information taken from Mississippi Mills Organics Diversion webpage:
Leaf and Yard Waste Collection
Spring Collection
Tuesday, May 24, 2016
Fall Collection
Tuesday, November 15, 2016
Leaves can also be taken free of charge to the Howie Road Recycling Depot at 1470 Howie Road off March Road and to the Pakenham Depot at 580 Barr Side Road, off Waba Road.
Backyard Composting
Backyard composters can be purchased at the Municipal Office for $40.00 (price subject to change).
Composting is the best way to significantly reduce how much garbage you send to the landfill and generate a wonderful product for your gardens.
