Children and Garbage

[LovelyLadyLux]

Last year our City bought 2 new automated garbage trucks. Now they've agreed to using $430,000 for another one. Our City is absolutely anal re: garbage & recycle. Throw one item into the wrong bin and they'll go crazy although we do not recycle glass which seems a bit crazy to me as almost everywhere in the world glass is recycled. The $430,000 seems expensive to me but what the heck if the need is there - HOWEVER - the second part of what they're proposing seems outright ludicrous to me. They are proposing harnessing up children and lowering them into the truck to ensure the correct garbage is in the correct bin!!

And they are specifically going to bus in children from the Capital (which is about a 1hour 30 minute drive away over a Mountain road!!!!)

This is the NEWS ARTICLE just released:

$430M garbage truck fund to include child-run Bin Compliance Program

The City will invest $430 million in a new automated garbage truck and launch of a child-run Bin Compliance Program, it announced today.

Councillors voted during a finance and audit committee meeting on Wednesday to borrow the funds and, at the same time, announced that 14 school children from Victoria will be bussed in daily to provide monitoring of bin compliance.

“The new automated garbage collection system is working well and demand requires that we add more vehicles to the fleet,” said mayor Leonard Krog. “Unfortunately, one issue is that people have not been paying as much attention to prohibited items as we would have liked.”

Nanaimo’s garbage collection has strict rules around what can and can not be placed in the three coloured bins, and misplaced refuse can slow down the process.

The new Bin Compliance Program will see one schoolchild with each garbage truck. The child will be carefully lowered into each bin prior to dumping into the vehicle, to ensure that refuse is sorted correctly. Children will be attached by a harness, for their safety.

The program has been being tested in Departure Bay for the last month, and seven-year old Compliance Officer Jackson Smythe says he feels the program is worthwhile. “It’s really fun and I only had one sprained ankle so far. It’s stinky, but so is my brother!”

The child officers do not qualify for WorkSafe BC coverage, due to their age, but City officials say they “should be fine.”

Children in the program will gain credit for the time away from school and 50 v-Bucks to spend in the popular video game Fortnite.

You can learn more about which items go in which bins at https://www.nanaimo.ca/city-services/ga ... -calendars.

To me this seems the height of ridiculousness to be putting children in contact with garbage and particularly harnessing them up and lowering them into bins!!!

Do you have anything like this in your area at all??

[Ruby Slippers]

That would definitely NOT be allowed over here! It's a ridiculous and disgusting rule to try to pass! I think the whole of the U.K. Would be up in arms if they tried!

[Grandad]

It's an early April fool, obviously. Tell them to check the date.

[LovelyLadyLux]

April Fool? I definitely hope so as it was published as 'news' here by a half arsed respectible news source. If I missed that (the April 1st thing) I missed it and they got me......and I for sure hope it is NOT real.

Another News source here is confirming the purchase of a new truck. City purchased 2 trucks and promised garbage rates would go down but now all we're getting is that rates will go UP.

https://nanaimonewsnow.com/article/6091 ... sJt3eIN_kk

[Grandad]

LLL, it is so ludicrous it can't possibly be true. Ever heard of 'Fake News'?

[LovelyLadyLux]

Definitely I have heard of fake news but where this came from is "reputable" or was IMO until now if they're actually going to start reporting (ahem) crap like this. I've actually deleted them from my list of places I get local news from. Should probably email the Editor complaining about this.