- by Anne Finlay- Stewart and Abbey Blokland

Not wanting to waste the walk to or from work, I do a little picking up on the way.  This breezy fall morning I found the perfect example of a message I've been trying to get out for a while.

The Redpath sugar bag. I am fairly confident that no one finished off a bag of sugar while walking down the street, pressed it flat and tossed it over their shoulder.

It was garbage day in my neighbourhood, and for the first few blocks I used my picker to put my neigbours' muffin packages, carboard boxes and cans BACK in the recycling boxes from which they had blown since being placed at the curb. The sugar bag was on a sidewalk in a neighbourhood where the last garbage day was last Wednesday.

Abbey called Miller Waste to check, and they told her that they start picking up at 8 a.m. in most of Owen Sound, and shortly before 7 a.m. downtown. So for most of us, it is best not to leave our garbage and recycling out as an all-night buffet for the skunks and seagulls to enjoy, or for the wind to blow into the "no man's land" of gutters, streets and green spaces.

When you do put out your recycling, here are Abbey's top three tips for keeping it in the containers for the Miller folks to pick up.

1. Put your heavier recyling on top.   2. Put a tight lid on your trash and recycling containers.  3. Stand your cardboad up and packed in tightly.

More information on Owen Sound's waste management is on their website, and for some great tips on how to reduce your household waste altogether, or to join those working to keep plastics and other materials out of our water and community, check out the Owen Sound Waste Watchers' website and Facebook page.