Toronto’s Garbage Strike, A Reminder of our Global Plastic Problem

In Toronto we have banned plastic bags. It is now the law. Stores cannot give you a plastic bag to carry your goods home. If you need one, you have to pay 5 cents per bag. Most people now do their shopping with eco-friendly reusable shopping bags. When shopping, merchants have to ask you if you want a bag. If you do, there is a fee. All stores have this law. No exceptions. It is a step in the right direction.

We are also going through a garbage strike and parks and parking lots are being used as temporary dumps. It is very unsightly and embarrassing and really shows how much waste the human race makes.

It got me to thinking about our time in Cambodia. One thing that we noticed while there was how much garbage and plastic was everywhere. Downtown at the waterfront of Phnom Penh, the grounds of the Royal Palace are impeccable, but walk to the river and look over its banks and you will see garbage everywhere. Make your way off of a main street and you will see plastic bags strewn all over the streets.

Plastic, the worst invention to hit our planet is taking its toll on the world. While once people used to pack their takeaway in banana leaves, they now toss them in a plastic bag. They drink out of plastic bags with a straw and when they are done, they throw it over the ledge into the water.

When we were in Sudan, thorn trees were covered with plastic bags. These urban tumbleweeds would blow in the wind and get caught in the trees.  They were covered to the point that it looked like a spring bloom, only with garbage. I remember riding along the Nile River and all I could think was how awful that garbage is everywhere, that people just throw their trash on the ground and keep walking.  but what other choice do they have. There aren’t garbage can’s or trash pickup?

sudan plastic bags in trees

While plastic has made lives easier it has certainly caused severe environmental damage.  What an evil invention.

I recently read in the Phnom Penh Post that most students didn’t realize that plastic wasn’t biodegradable and had a long term effect on the environment.

We shouldn’t think that we are all high and mighty here in Canada. The West isn’t any better, we are just better at hiding it. But now in the middle of a garbage strike, we can see exactly how much waste we produce. Just because it is being hidden in dumps, doesn’t mean that there isn’t a serious problem.

Last year, America spent 15 billion dollars on bottled water. How many plastic bottles is that? We don’t need to drink bottled water in North America, all of our water is potable and studies have shown that bottled water isn’t even regulated and that you can’t be sure what you are drinking. And yet, we keep drinking out of plastic bottles.

In Toronto, we are trying to fix the problem a little bit at a time. Most offices have banned bottled water and people are cutting down; making a point to drink out of the tap. I see people carrying around refillable bottles and my work at Corus Entertainment has even stopped supplying disposable coffee cups. I am sure that most other places have done the same.

It’s not going to fix everything, goods are still packaged in plastic, people still drink from straws and while many people are refusing to drink bottled water, many people are still of the mindset that it is somehow better for you. But with baby steps change can happen, let’s hope that change will happen soon before it is too late.

Let us know. What steps has your city made to start fighting the environmental problems that the world is facing?

To check out more on the bottled water and privatization of water click here

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