Certainly, if we are going to work to effect positive change, it will require a variety of initiatives, from those of individual citizens and volunteers at the Éco-Quartier to wide-ranging government programs.

I think that an excellent model for city-wide composting would have community compost bins, like those of the Éco-Quartier, adequately distributed throughout neighbourhoods and managed by a deputy from each neighbourhood. It's true that the less energy used to get the organic waste to its destination, the better, and on a small scale, the quality of the compost produced would be excellent.

Realistically speaking, however, the government has thusfar not dedicated the necessary resources to make such a technique possible, and it is unlikely that they would recognize the wisdom of such an approach. This is the kind of thing that happens at the grassroots level, but without proper funding and community involvement, will remain limited in its effectiveness.

The work of the Éco-Quartier, for example, is a real positive contribution to the community. Lack of legitimate government funding, however, means that the compost sites that they manage are limited in capacity, are closed for the wintertime, and are located a little too far away for a fair number of people to get to them.

The collection service that we offer was originally started in partnership with the Éco-Quartier Louis-Cyr and Ville Émard, in order to boost the number of citizens taking advantage of their compost facilities. A moderate increase in our collection volume and the deep freeze of winter forced us to seek out a higher-capacity facility as a destination for the collected waste. We were delighted to find the necessary accomodations less than a kilometre from our furthest-west pickup point.

When the city does start collection, it will not only burn fuel up and down city streets, but will then truck the collected waste off-island for processing. While we've had to trade in our bicycle trailer for a gas-powered truck - a logistic necessity in order to perform our collection - our goal remains to get the collection as close to carbon-neutral as possible, as addressed by our plan to run recycled vegetable oil through collection vehicles. If we have our way, we will bring back the bike trailer too, in order to limit noise and air pollution on residential streets.

So for those who compost in their backyards for free, or carry their buckets to the Éco-Quartier for $2.00 a year, as well as to those who manage these community sites, we say 'Bravo!' These are the kinds of effort we need right now, in order to get our organic waste treated properly.

For those who find themselves unable to compost without a residential collection program, we offer our services as another of those efforts to make urban composting a reality today.

Thanks to the Maison Verte for their support and to everyone for their comments. Self-reflection is always necessary to ensure one remains a part of the solution.