When Toronto met the blue box in 1988
Recycling program hoped to divert up to 15 per cent of waste from the garbage dump
It was a big day for Toronto when residents could stop sending their empty glass bottles and old newspapers to the dump.
"Big blue plastic boxes are becoming a familiar sight on the curbsides of Ontario," said host Peter Mansbridge on The National on Nov. 3, 1988.
"The idea is to separate glass and metal containers and put them in the blue boxes to be picked up on garbage day."
He added that environmentalists had been calling for the measure "for decades."
The case for glass
A key reason for the initiative, according to reporter Eve Savory, was that it had become both economically viable and environmentally desirable to recycle certain types of waste, such as glass.
"We're very keen on trying to recycle as much container glass as possible," said Cathy Cirko, of a company called Consumer Glass, as she stood in front of a heap of green and clear glass vessels.
Municipalities were similarly keen, said Savory, due to the dwindling availability of landfill space.
"Recycling has become the politically correct thing to do," she noted.
The Ontario city of Kitchener had already been able to recycle glass and paper for five years, and Toronto was just getting with the program.
Paper and aluminum, too
The environmental reasons were compelling.
"One ton of recycled paper saves 17 trees," said Savory, adding that Ontario threw away 1,000 tons of paper every day.
And by recycling cans, rather than smelting the material for new ones, the province hoped to cut down on 95 per cent of the emissions from aluminum production.
"Our environment is being saved more than 5,000 tons of acid rain-causing pollutants a year," said Ontario Premier David Peterson.
In total, Savory said, recycling programs meant 10 to 15 per cent of household garbage was being turned into "useful goods" instead.
