Rethinking Lifestyle

The Steinbach Landfill is a heartbreaking sight. If you haven’t been recently, you should go take a look. Lawnmowers, wheelbarrows, dishwashers, recliners, bed frames, lamps, bikes, dishes, kites, toys, lumber, masonry, windows, doors, garden tools, barbecues… anything and everything that someone has grown tired of, or doesn’t have the skill to fix ends up here. An enormous portion of what’s deposited at the landfill would be just as at home on a thrift store shelf. Consider that MCC Thrift Stores in Manitoba generated over $3.5 million last year reselling everything from unused Christmas cards to “harvest gold” washing machines, and you’ll realize the value of other people’s junk that’s being landfilled each day. Last week, a neatly piled stack of perfectly good patio blocks were sitting at the dump, destined to be landfilled. I asked whether I could take them to a local thrift store, where anyone would be happy to pay $50 or $100 for them. “No, that is not allowed.” The Steinbach Landfill does not allow scavenging.

The Steinbach Landfill is not alone in this policy, which is largely due to safety and liability concerns. But safety and order can be maintained simply by separating salvageable goods and storing them apart from the trash. It’s already being done in places like Nanaimo’s Recycling Exchange, at the University of Toronto Scarborough’s FreeStore, and in Yellowknife’s celebrated YKEA. Wherever they exist, these services are extremely well-frequented by locals looking for the chance to recover otherwise wasted goods. It’s clear that Steinbach would benefit from adopting a similar operation to help slow and eventually stop the abhorrent flow of garbage into the earth. Set aside an area of covered shelving where the better-condition toys, tools, furniture, electronics and appliances can be left. Have an area for usable lumber and building materials. And importantly, keep it all in order by charging nominal fees and accessing provincial funding to staff the area. This should all be part of what we expect from a waste management service in an era when the impact of our waste on future generations is threatening to be so great.

It’s time we learned to see waste the way our grandparents did, who always saw the value of what they had and despised excess. It’s time to banish the idea of a “dump” forever. Unban “scavenging” and open a Free Store at the Steinbach Landfill.