Garbage Day

When we first moved into our apartment, my roommates and I were presented with 3 things as we took our first steps into our new home: 1) a TON of trash, dirt, dust, dirty plates, moldy food, etc. that the old tenants had nicely left behind for us to clean, 2) a TON of old furniture that they failed to dispose of and felt the need to dump on us, and 3) a piece of paper stating the dates of the garbage/recycling pick up. We had our work spelled out quick frankly.

My roommates and I have since adjusted to the schedule of taking out trash (or the many times we say we will and forget or are just too lazy to do) and respectfully separating the recycling items for the wellness of the environment. However, the old tenants never wrote anything down about a certain little composting unit that was just down the street from us.

I have a roommate that is slightly a little more into the "wellness of the environment" than my other roommate and myself and she noted that we failed to have a compost to properly get rid of any food scraps we had left over. I myself have never had a compost, and was a little surprised that she suggested we start one since I had no idea where we would get rid of the contents. Surely one doesn't simply make a compost to throw everything in the garbage later.

As my roommate continued her spiel on how we should start composting, she mentioned a little composting unit that was only two blocks from our apartment (the corner of Duluth and Parc). Being the oblivious person I am, I realized that this little spot she was talking about was something I passed by every time I walked to school, and every time I returned. To my defense, the site is not something that immediately stands out and screams "BRING YOUR UNWANTED FOOD TO ME;" it just looks like two old gas tanks fenced in with some weeds and plants surrounding it with some random spray paint here and there. I went to the site and actually saw that there is a schedule when one can bring their old, unwanted scraps and that people actually manage the site very well.

I'm impressed that people have established such a site to help with the contemporary and growing "green" movement. I researched compost in Montreal to see if there were any more sites similar to the one and unfortunately didn't come up with too many results. However, although there are only a select few scattered across the city, there is a service that picks up your compost for only 5$ a month! (Compost Montreal) Now you can feel good about doing your share to help better the Earth :)

Treasure #6: Composting unit at the corner of Parc and Duluth