Are you required to compost & recycle where you live?

Question

I'm just curious about this...we live in Canada & it's mandatory here.
Thanks!

I live in Nova Scotia (in a small town) & I chose the word *mandatory* simply because the sanitation folks can refuse to take your trash if you don't follow the guidelines.
Large green bins are provided for compost...the compost & garbage are picked up every 2 weeks & recycle bags on the weeks that they don't pick up compost.
We have 2 clean up days (1 in Spring & 1 in Fall) to get rid of larger items. There's also a day in Jan. to put out Xmas trees.
If you do take items to the dump you're responsible to seperate them & put them on the appropriate piles.
Apartment dwellers aren't required to compost but bins are provided by the dumpsters for recycling.
When we lived in a more country setting we were still required to recycle, composting wasn't an issue because we just chose a small spot in the back yard for that purpose.
I'm really pleased with the responses...sounds like many areas have similar guidelines.

Answer 1

Recycling isn't mandatory in Canada. I live in Canada and there is no law that states you MUST recycle. It is just very strongly encouraged.
By the way, I stopped recycling because those asshats would throw half the crap back on my lawn every Sunday morning so I'd just have to go bag it all up for the dump anyway!

Answer 2

I live just north of Kansas City, MO. There are no requirements or even suggestions of recycling. I compost, but I don't know anyone else around me that does.

It's absolutely sad that we don't have programs set in place to do so. I love that other city's and countries do the programs.

I read today in the paper about a smaller city who's refuge company is going to stop the recycling route. It's due to the lack of participation and the rising fuel costs.

My current employer-who deals with much paper, plastic and some aluminum- has minimal recycling. They only recently began a 'recycling' program. They set one trash can in 2 of the rooms that have a circle hole for cans and bottles. There's not one near each receptacle and people are too lazy to walk to the other side of the plant to recycle. Before this 'program' I had kept a bag of recyclables in my office and took them home each week to recycle on my own. I brought home a grocery sack each wk, and that's just me. Think of a plant with 200-800 employees. Scary. Note- they are good about paper recycling.

Answer 3

I live in Queens,NYC and I wish that were the deal here.We do have to recycle but we don't recycle as much as we used to. In the city and it's boroughs we recycle glass,cans and metal,paper and I think some wood. Some bigger items too. After the holidays the post x-mas trees are picked up and turned into mulch for the city's parks ( and for free for anyone who wants,you just call the city.) Trees that have to be cut down anywhere in the city are also turned into mulch( as long as they aren't infected with the Asian Long Horn Beetle, A problem we have down here.) Some people compost but it isin't mandatory. I think San Francisco has a better program for recycling than ours,though. However both NYC and San Francisco are the leading cities of recycling in the United States. I'm curious..Are you in a city or a more rural setting?... And are you Quebec side Canada, Middle Canada , or Vancouver West Coast Canada?

Answer 4

Our council in Brisbane, QLD (Australia), provides us with a wheelie bin for general waste and another for recycling.

Composting is a matter of choice, but I don't do it personally because I rent and don't have a garden.

Answer 5

it's not compulsory here but encouraged. in addition to a backet to put glass, plastic, newpaper and aluminum, there is a recycle center in town.

I'm in minnesota