Its been about a week now since the garbage strike has started in Vancouver, but instead of there being rats about and huge pile-ups of garbage (although there may be some of that too in this city of 4million people) there is a huge increase in the number of compost bins being purchased and used. One can only imagine that these will be used after the strike has finished and garbage is once again being picked up. There are a lot of gardens around Vancouver: people love to make their yards look better than their neighbours! This is part of the reason why a composting increase is such a good thing. Here's a bit more about the issue from treehugger via the Globe & Mail:

Amidst warnings that the strike could go on for weeks, City officials are encouraging residents to step up their recycling efforts and people seem to be getting the message. Since about half of household garbage is organic material much of it can be composted in a backyard composter. For those in apartment buildings, of which there are many in Vancouver, things could be a bit more difficult. However condominium dwellers are being urged to get into the habit of rinsing out recyclable tins and jars as a start.

Tips issued by the City for ways to reduce garbage during the strike are an environmentalist's dream: separating wet garbage, crushing cans,adding grass clippings to the compost, letting grass grow longer, and put fruit and vegetable waste in the compost. Whilst no one wants to see a long and destructive strike, necessity is the mother of invention and this labour dispute may inspire more people to think about garbage and take some small steps towards reducing it on a long term basis.