new york run by the swiss

Remember back aways we were talking about Peter Ustinov's description of Toronto: New York run by the Swiss? There was some discussion about whether it was a compliment or an insult, although most people agreed it was meant as praise.

I think we've gotten our first taste of that. Both our landlord and next-door neighbour filled us in on the recycling laws for the Peel region of Ontario. This is efficiency New York could only dream of. Or scoff at, as the case may be.

[Canadian readers, I'm sure you'll want to go off and do your laundry now.]

All waste is picked up once a week. Recycling is separated, similar to how it's done in New York. But there's a limit on how much non-recycling trash you can leave out: three bags per household. Certain days are unlimited trash days. Those seem to be after most major holidays, including tomorrow, post-Labour Day, so we've moved in at a good time, trash-wise.

Except for those unlimited days, if you leave more than the three-bag limit, you have to buy tags from the city. And apparently, no one ever buys them. The tags cost $1.00 each, and it seems to be anathema to buy more tags. Our neighbour told us that if someone on the block has an extra bag of garbage, they ask around to see if anyone has only two bags, then put their trash in front of that driveway.

This is a huge difference I've long noticed between New Yorkers and Canadians, which I'll get into soon, but not now. For now I'll just say that in New York, if it cost $1.00 to put an extra bag of trash out, people would buy dozens of tags and use them all the time. Counterfeit tags would go for $0.50 on the street corner. Wealthy neighborhoods wouldn't use tags at all, while folks in low-income communities would be rounded up for Tag Violations. Eventually there'd be a revolt, with the populace calling for an end to the draconian Tag Laws.

Now, for all I know there are black-market tags in Mississauga, too, but the way our landlord and neighbour made it sound, if we buy extra tags, we will be branded as freaks.

On the other hand, recycling in New York is a disgrace. NYC was the last major US city to recycle, and it was done in the least logical and most haphazard method possible. When Mayor Bloomberg took office, he suspended the recycling program, claiming it was losing money. (This may have been true, who can say.) Later, public pressure forced him to reinstate it, and it took months for the public to get back to speed.

Huge sections of New York City do not recycle. All the recycling rules can fit on a small poster or pamphlet. US readers, check out these guidelines (and that's just one link). Can you imagine these rules existing in New York? There would be a revolt. The Mayor would be lynched, the City Council run out of town.

Meanwhile, back in Port Credit, we have a lot to learn. Allan has been reading up on how to dispose of the mountain of cardboard boxes, bubble wrap and packing tape we accumulated, not to mention all the disgusting crap we wrenched out of this house. I'm sure we're going to miss a few tricks this time around, and something tells me our next-door neighbour will be over to educate us.

We thought this was amusing. From the Mississauga Collection Day Checklist:

Clear the way for your collection truck. Don't leave hockey nets and basketball posts in the street on your waste collection day.

I'll let you know how it goes. Or maybe this is too boring, and I won't.