Practice Task 17 · Parts 1–4

From: Perpetua Lindqvist, Resident, 44 Windermere Crescent

To: Casimir Aduba, Waste Diversion Coordinator, Township of Thornfield Falls

Subject: New organics bin — some confusion

Hi Casimir,

I received the new green organics bin last week along with a pamphlet, but a few things were not clear to me. The pamphlet says compostable bags are 'strongly recommended' but does not say whether regular plastic bags are outright banned or just discouraged. I have been using plastic grocery bags to line the bin for years with the old program, and I would rather not buy special bags if I do not have to.

Also, the pamphlet lists meat and dairy as acceptable in the green bin, which surprised me, since our previous composting program explicitly excluded both. Has the policy actually changed, or is this a printing error? I do not want to contaminate a whole truckload if the answer is no.

Lastly, collection day for organics is now Wednesday, but our regular garbage is still picked up Friday. My neighbour insists the township moved organics to align with garbage day, but our bin was collected on Wednesday this week while our garbage sat out until Friday as usual. Could you confirm the correct schedule for our street?

Thanks,

Perpetua

— REPLY —

From: Casimir Aduba

To: Perpetua Lindqvist

Subject: RE: New organics bin — some confusion

Hi Perpetua,

Thanks for reaching out, and sorry for the unclear pamphlet wording. Regular plastic bags are not banned outright, but they are not accepted at our processing facility either, meaning any organics bagged in plastic will be pulled out and sent to landfill rather than composted, which defeats the purpose. Paper bags or certified compostable bags are the only liners that actually get processed. If you would rather not buy bags at all, you can line the bin loosely without any bag and simply rinse it out between collections.

On meat and dairy: the policy did change as of this year. Our new processing facility uses a higher-heat method that can handle both safely, unlike the previous facility, which could not. So the pamphlet is correct, not an error, though I understand the confusion given the old restrictions.

On the schedule: your neighbour is mistaken. Organics collection did not move to align with garbage day; it was set independently based on truck routing efficiency, and for Windermere Crescent specifically, that landed on Wednesday. Garbage remains on Friday for your street, as it has been. I have attached the full route map in case it helps settle the disagreement.

Let me know if anything else comes up,

Casimir