I have a few thoughts on the…

I have a few thoughts on the evaluation for success of the Strategy for a Waste-Free Ontario. I find that it focuses heavily on the reduction of Greenhouse Gas Emissions and specifically a goal of zero carbon emissions. From my experience, most people can't grasp the realities of climate change and the urgent need to make changes. I find people tend to be short term thinkers, in fact I've already had the debate today about how global warming must be a hoax because it's cold this week. I'm sure you experience the same frustrations.
Anyways, my suggestion is in regards to the communication of the strategy to Ontarians. Instead of making the primary goal about climate change, I think it would be better received if it was about saving tax dollars. Over time it is much less expensive to process organic waste and turn it into agricultural fertilizer than it is to continue burying it underground. From my calculations, organic waste accounts for 40%-60% of household waste. If these targets are met, it would not only be a major reduction in landfill tipping fees but operational landfills would be able to remain open twice as long. This would result in a major cost savings to taxpayers as they wouldn't be paying for the construction of landfills as frequently and politicians wouldn't have to worry about the political nightmare of selecting new landfill locations.
By saving precious land from landfill creation, citizens could think of themselves as "Stewards of the Land". I feel like this would be more well received than the reduction of GHGs, especially since landfills are only responsible for up to 6% of the recorded emissions in Ontario. Another benefit would be that organic waste as an agricultural fertilizer is more environmentally friendly than synthetic chemical fertilizers which promotes the health of local watersheds.
I still know that it is important to track the emissions reduction that organics recycling would have, I just think that there are "lower hanging fruit" (pun intended) in terms of communication to encourage citizens to buy into the program.

[Original Comment ID: 211672]