Give it Back

 
The province of Ontario runs a recycling program called the Ontario Deposit Return Program (ODRP) or simply, ‘Bag It Back’. Presently, it applies only to alcoholic beverage containers. The way it works is this – a mandatory deposit is collected at the point-of-purchase (10 cents for the smaller cans/ bottles and 20 cents for the bigger ones). Once the user returns the empty container to The Beer Store, which is the official collector, the deposit amount is returned. The results of this program are phenomenal – almost 80% of all empty alcoholic containers are being returned. Instead of being dumped into our landfills and potentially affecting our soil and water, this waste is getting recycled.

Which brings me to the story of my cousin brother and his early days in Toronto. My brother came to Canada in 2016, moved into an apartment block overlooking the lake, and spent the first few months as a jobless immigrant. It was then that he struck upon the idea of generating a small income from collecting the used cans and bottles he could see strewn all along the lake’s beaches. So, he would go comb the beaches every morning. On his salvaging spree, he was surprised to see other Torontonians (what a wacky moniker!) doing the same.

Young, old, hobos in their scruffy clothing, well-dressed people, immigrants like himself, homeowners whose backyards opened onto the lake – he would come across all sorts. Some of them, my brother guessed, were just like him – wanting to make an extra buck, but then he would also encounter many who just wanted to keep the place clean and safe. Many of the early morning walkers would thank him for doing his part as a conscientious resident. My brother did this for a week and earned almost $ 20 – 30 daily. He says he stopped when he could no longer overcome his discomfiture when he had to acknowledge those words of gratitude being uttered by total strangers.

Sometime later, he got his first job. Those first few days, my brother says, showed him the strong sense of duty of the people of this great city.