My Civic Action Challenge

Last week, I wrote about an idea to improve my local recycling system, and as promised, I outlined my plan in a letter to a township council member. Happily, I received a positive and enthusiastic response. The member I contacted liked the idea and challenged me to present it to the council in person.

I have to admit, I’m much more comfortable being a ‘keyboard advocate,’ the idea of presenting before my city council feels daunting. On the other hand, it’s an exciting opportunity and a chance to work for a better future.

Below, I’ve included a copy of my correspondence so far, starting with my initial letter to Councillor Kim Richard. I’ll keep you updated as things progress!

...

Dear Councillor Richer,

Lately, Canadians have been hearing about just how terrible our recycling system really is. With garbage and contaminated recyclables rotting overseas, our once proud recycling reputation is in the trash. Provincial and federal governments can use policy to make some crucial changes, but in the meantime, what can we, as individuals and small municipalities do?

I am proud of the work that the Township of Langley has done, but there are still areas that can be improved. As a passionate recycler, I have found that our system remains incredibly limited when it comes to recyclables beyond the scope covered by RecycleBC. We are told to bring items like Styrofoam, plastic bags, electronics, batteries, lightbulbs, metal, clothing, and wood to our local recycler... but what does that actually mean?

For me, it means a headache; a proactive approach to understanding the minute differences between a plastic cereal bag and a plastic bread bag; and a lot of driving in my fossil-fuel burning SUV. Also, I have noted that the RecycleBC depots are functioning at over-capacity. This means dangerous driving conditions, over-worked employees, and recycling categories that reach maximum capacity in a few short hours (just try recycling granola bar wrappers or Styrofoam after 10:30am).

Finally, public education for recycling 'beyond the blue box' appears dismally low. RecycleBC is doing a great job at providing helpful resources, but I suspect most of the general public isn't aware of this. I doubt many newcomers to the area know how to navigate this resource.

I commend the ToL's helpful and informative tools. I especially like the 'what goes where' game on the ToL's website. I introduced this game to a Mandarin-speaking friend, who was delighted to find the tool in her own language.

But now, it's time for us to do better.

I suggest that many of these issues could be mediated with a one-stop recycling facility run by the Township for everything not collected curb-side. If this is done, our fractured recycling services can be brought together while still providing valuable materials to our recycling partners. A closer relationship with commercial recyclers also brings the added benefit of ethical municipal oversight, hopefully avoiding a disaster like the one we've witnessed in the Philippines.

I think the perfect spot for such a facility would be near the current waste transfer station. Having a central recycling location station would make things much less confusing, reduce illegal dumping, aid in public education, and might just reduce the amount of recyclable material ending up in the landfill.

What do you think of this idea? How can we work towards achieving it?

With warm thanks for your time and service,

Charity Gosling

...

Hi Charity:

Thanks for your thoughtful email and ideas about expanding our waste transfer facilities to include more recycling options. I think this is a great idea!

I am forwarding your email to the Township’s Administrator, Mr Mark Bakken, to see if something could be done about this.

I appreciated receiving your email and thank you very much for taking the time to send it.

Sincerely,

Kim Richter

...

Good morning Councillor Richter; (Mark Balkan, Chief Administrative Officer for my Township)

Thank you for your email.

This would be a welcomed initiative and likely be best triggered by a delegation followed with a notice of motion to direct staff to explore opportunities in collaboration with Metro Vancouver and report back to Council with potential benefits, costs and implications. 

Thank you.

...

And so you have it, a taste of my new bureaucratic adventure. Now it's up to me to put together a 5 minute presentation with some nifty handouts! Wish me luck!

-Charity

A better way to recycle

Lately, Canadians have been hearing about just how terrible our recycling system really is. With garbage and contaminated recyclables rotting overseas, our once proud recycling reputation is in the trash. Provincial and federal goverments can use policy to make some important changes, but in the meantime, what can we, as individuals and small municipalities do?

Well, we need to make sure what we're leaving on the curb is clean and properly sorted; making it a desirable product for recycling. This also means that cities with "single-stream" recycling programs need to switch to a "multi-stream" program. Basically, dumping all out recycling items together in one box is a terrible idea. Glass breaks, and greasy pizza boxes contaminate, turning all your newspapers and yogurt containers into trash.

But our recycling system needs so much more.

We must charge manufacturers a fee to cover the end cost of disposing and recycling their packaging materials (and ultimately their products). This money can be used to build a local recycling industry and infrastructure, with the end goal of eliminating the need to ship our plastic to developing countries at all!

Happily, if you live in BC, a program of this type has already been in place since 2013. You can read more about it here. https://recyclebc.ca/

But this system doesn't cover everything. We are told to bring items like Styrofoam, plastic bags, electronics, batteries, lightbulbs, metal, clothing, and wood to our local recycler... but what does that actually mean?

For me, it means a headache... and a lot of driving in my fossil-fuel burning SUV. Below is a list of what I do to recycle. Feel free to skip it, I just wanted to get this off my chest.

• Styrofoam: Accepted at a local recycling facility in limited quantities until 12 pm or until full capacity is reached (often full by 10am).
• Plastic bags: Clean, properly sorted shopping bags easily accepted. But you need to be trained to do this properly. Do not include any sort of plastic bag that is bonded with another material (paper and aluminum) or of variable thickness (think stand-up bags and ziplock closures, these take longer to melt down completely and the thicker plastic that doesn't get melted can snarl the machine-- or so I've heard).
• Plastic packaging of variable textures and thickness: After becoming an expert at separating plastics, I collect my crinkly cereal bags, chip bags, granola wrappers, and mesh onion bags and deposit them by 9am at a local recycler. The company than sends these plastics to the Burnaby Wastse to Energy incinerator.
• Metal: There are several metal recyclers, but I have to make a special trip.
• Large electronics: One of our local Salvation Armies does brisk business recycling electronics, just make sure you've wiped all personal info!
• Wood: I can have wood mulched and turned into other products but there's a min $25 fee... and the wood has to be clean, not full of old nails and some kinds of paint.
• Unusable clothing: Value Village does business with overseas resellers and ragmakers. I drop off my old clothes and my rags together and hope for the best. However, I am skeptical just how well this "rag" buisness model works. I have heard that unusable clothing often ends up in a poluting burning pile somewhere overseas.

And so on...

Also, most normal (not crazy recycling) people would have NO IDEA how and where to recycle the items listed, as this information is not advertised and can only be discovered through word of mouth or actually talking to employees working in these spaces. 

I suspect this may be due to a capacity problem as most places are operating at full capacity without saying a word.

So what am I doing to advocate for a better recycling system?

My suggestion is an expanded one-stop recycling facility for everything not collected curbside, run by the city. If this is done, our extended recycling services can be brought together and be operated with municipal oversight. I think the perfect spot for such a facility would be near the current waste transfer station (town dump). Having a central station would make things much less confusing and could aid in public education, helping our recycables become a high-quality and in-demand product.

Today, I'm going to send a letter to a member of my town council. A little birdy told me that this idea is something that has been advocated by staff in cityhall but it needs a public push to get off the ground. So this is my first step. I'll let you know when I get a response.

Wish me luck!

Trixie Trouble all grown up!

I’m finished.

It’s official, it’s real. After 7 years, I’m content that my latest book, Trixie Trouble, is complete. Multiple drafts, multiple edits, and lots of character work... which is why I haven’t blogged lately. I just soooo needed to be done.

I also gave birth to two beautiful baby girls, worked through a succession of severe health issues, and left my hometown to support my husband as he undertook a major career change.

Now, things are settled. Now, I am ready to once again claim the title of working writer. And my book is done!!!

I can’t WAIT to share it with you, but in the meantime, here is a taste:

The year is 1870. Gold from California drives the expansion of the railroad, and new wealth rolls into Texas with the explosion of the cattle trade. The law is a shifting thing, and justice lies in the rough hands of those who dare to settle the last frontier. 

In a sleepy Methodist town, tucked away in the Texas hill country, a spirited young girl watches as the people of Providence convict and hang her horse-thieving father. Trixie’s fierce loyalty to her father’s memory and her unfortunate knack for trouble brand her as an outcast in a town already suspicious of her intent. 

A violent attack drives Trixie from Providence and to the wild cattle town of Shaughnessy, where she encounters her beautiful and devious mother, Georgina Clay. Desperate for belonging and acceptance, Trixie joins her mother’s outlaw gang, but her heart is torn by her love for young Donovan Priest, the young son of a local reverend.  

When Donovan witnesses the outlaw gang pull a bank heist, Trixie is forced to betray her mother to save him. To keep Donovan alive, Trixie must outwit her mother and forge a new identity for herself: one that will take her beyond the conventions of society, law, and religion. 

Trixie Trouble is being sent out into the ether seeking for a home with an agent. And already my mind has leapt ahead to my next project. (More on that next time).

And yes, it is a Western. No aliens, no time travel: just a romping adventure along the wild Texas frontier; a classic genre reinvented for a new generation. Because I wanted to.

:D

The Gift of Uncertainty

Perhaps the future is malleable, but not by me. I’ve tried.

I love the big calendar on my fridge, scribbling down family events months in advance. We will do this, we will go here. I listen to the weather report every morning, and check Google for the best route to get the kids to school. I keep a close eye on the housing market and run the numbers through my head: always trying to trying to know, to control.

A few weeks ago my husband’s career became uncertain. We may or may not have to move sooner... or later. Perhaps his position at work will change... or it may not.

People who know the situation ask me ‘what will you do? where will you go?’. I’m at the point where all I can do is laugh. I have no idea. It’s a problem that no amount of planning can solve... and we’ve tried.

I don’t know what the future holds for our family, there’s no 10, 5 or even 1 year plan. Instead, I thank God for the warmth of our home and the love of family. For today. Any illusion of control over the future is gone.

And to my surprise, I have discovered uncertainty is a gift. I don’t know what will happen tomorrow but I know that today the sun is shining and the house smells of gingerbread.

And I am content.

Credit:http://maxpixel.freegreatpicture.com/

These Boots

It was a beautiful fall day. You know the kind: where the air tastes sweet with sun-baked pine and the wind turns the fallen leaves in orange eddies around your ankles.

I was walking. Nowhere special. I remember concrete and traffic. A strip mall, Value Village and a greasy brown bag full of hot samosas.

But despite the ordinary, the day was bright and clear. My heart swelled with joy. I played with my steps, skipping over the cracks and I thought:

Life is worth living for the feel of pavement beneath my boots.

Years turned, seasons changed. It’s so easy to forget a single moment of pleasure.

Two months ago I had a stomach ache. I ended up in emergency with severe internal bleeding. I'd been taking ibprophin to reduce swelling in my knees whenever I ran, and it had eaten a hole through my small intestine.

That was August. Now it is November. I’m still recovering, but my doctor has just cleared me to start some light exersice again.

I can't run fast. I can run far. My knees swell and ache. I take it slow and understand I won't be running a marathon anytime soon.

But it is fall and the air is sweet.

And today I remembered that moment.

That it’s not about how far, how high or how fast, but rather the pleasure of 

one happy step after another 

on a crisp and clear fall day.

:)

To the younger me.

How many versions of this post have gone up around the internet? How many wise and profound insights offered from those who look backwards?

I think about it too. How I would have handled things differently if I’d known then what I know now?

Let me explain:

Years ago (20ish) I doubted that I was incapable of real romantic connection. I felt like I was a block of ice inside. I craved companionship from both boys and girls, deep connection and friendship. But if someone approached me looking for romance, I always rejected them.

I just couldn’t make myself love romantically. And I tried so hard. I felt it was unfair of me to develop deep friendship bonds without “following through” so I tried... I would date... and then lay awake at night, crying and begging God to make me feel something, anything, other than revulsion at the thought of a romantic touch. But the harder I tried, the stronger my sense of revulsion and resentment at the prospect of even a kiss.

The result? Broken hearts. I hurt others, wounded by what must have felt like careless rejection. But I was hurt too. I wanted a circle of friends, a feeling of safety and family. I didn’t know why I couldn’t engage in romance, I didn’t even understand the problem. Gradually, this tendency of mine to hurt the boys around me isolated me. People I had hoped to hold as close friends for life no longer seemed interested in spending time with me.

Ah. 20...ish.

I feel a little embarrassed even mentioning it: such a crazy confusing time! My story is mine, but it’s not unique. When we are that young, everybody has so much to learn and everyone makes stupid mistakes. As we grow older there is a great temptation to indulge in “turning back the clock” fantasies. I suppose if I knew then what I know now...

I would be able to communicate my needs with clarity and compassion. I would tell those around me that my parents were going through a wrenching separation. I would be able to explain that at that time in my life, I needed support, love and friendship, but I was incapable of anything more. And do I believe that with understanding, the good people around me could have loved me for who and what I was.

But at the time, they didn’t know, because I didn’t understand. I couldn’t express it. It took years for me to figure it out.

So what would my advice to my younger self be?

Nothing. Nothing at all.

The point is: Instead of criticizing that young girl, I looked into the mirror today and remembered:

That life is complicated: it’s hard and messy. And we all screw up. As a matter of fact, despite my best intentions, I will make more mistakes… and I can expect others to do the same. We are all simply doing as we ought: being human.

And that’s okay.

I told myself to forgive; to be kind, compassionate, slow to judge and patient.

I told myself to that the human heart is like a big ball of knotted yarn: it takes years to unravel the tangles,

and until glory come, the work is never done.


And my love life?

That worked out just fine. :)

Throwback Thursday: Writer’s Way

To give myself a brain break between working on another novel, I’ve decided to spend one day a week posting parts of a revamped fantasy I wrote years ago. Every Thursday I’ll be posting bite-sized morsels of my story on an app called WattPad... something you can read on your phone while waiting in the coffee line-up.

Children of Promise: Into the Wood

The evil spirit known as Dragon has once again bonded with a man. In exchange for power, mercenary Gen Dronin makes a pact with the Dragon to share his flesh, confident that he can control the beast within. But the Dragon is hungry. Can Gen redeem his flesh and save his soul, or will the Dragon win and at last sate his hunger on a world of ash?

Interested?

Click here. :) https://my.w.tt/OzgxZfFXuR