Dear Councillors,
I would like to applaud you for the recent expansion of our recycling program in London. The increase in recyclable products that will no longer be polluting our landfills will have a long term benefit for us all. Thank you for your forward thinking and your concern for the environment.
With all due respect, this is why I am troubled by your decision to once again shelve a green bin program for London, and I implore you to reconsider.
London is a growing city, and in a growing city there is a growing population. From the growing population comes growing waste, and from the growing waste comes growing landfills. From the growing landfills there is a growing environmental problem, and from the growing environmental problem there is a growing cost. Why watch the problem inflate when we know how to deal with it now?
I am sure you have been presented with several fact sheets on the reasons why a green bin program is environmentally responsible, and how up to 65% of landfill use has been reduced in other green bin friendly cities. You know that slowing down the growth of the landfill will help the land and homes around it retain a greater property value, and you understand that the city will benefit from long term savings. So why say “not now”?
If the promised 0% tax increase is holding you back, then I ask you to reconsider the freeze. We can afford the small increase that would be seen on our tax bills, and we will reap the benefits in the long (and short) term. What we cannot afford is to be short sighted when it comes to matters of our city and the environment.
Please, be leaders of vision and show the same long term thinking you showed with the decision to increase the recycling program. Please make the right decision, and do it for the good of the city, not a lofty promise.
Sincerely,
Jo-Anne Bishop
(will be forwarded to the Mayor and members of Council)
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