There are stories we love to tell at the Fitzhugh. Although we strive for objectivity, we often catch ourselves returning to favourite subjects. Yes, I am aware of my caribou/grizzly bear/wildlife story preferences and have tried to temper it with a greater diversity of stories in the Fitzhugh. There are no bears this week. 

This is not unique to this newspaper, as globally you will see publications and journalists get subconsciously stuck on a topic they simply love to write about. 

These tend to evolve into beats, as we editors want writers to inject passion into their work, which happens when the subject matter is important to us. On a more nefarious side, this can also be a product of journalists facing a massive public relations apparatus that does its best to ensure their story is told in a manner they are happy with. But that’s another column for another day.

Then there are stories that challenge our own conceptions of community and ourselves. Stories that challenge our world and personal views of who we are as a nation. I had many friends express this sentiment following the G8/G20 conference and subsequent treatment of protesters.

You will see a story that challenged my personal perception in next week’s Fitzhugh. It’s a story about waste, and how Jasper is generally doing a poor job at recycling. I had a very difficult time writing it. It prompted the need for more personal reflection, as I soon discovered I was part of the problem.

Currently, Jasper is diverting about 30 per cent of its landfill waste to recycling and compost programs. It’s not a number to write home about, especially when the community is supposed to divert 50 per cent of its waste from landfills.

After touring a landfill site with Parks Canada environmental specialist Jurgen Deagle, I was given examples of items the community is not recycling, which in turn is filling up landfills at an alarming rate, and costing taxpayers much more money. Landfill usage is structured on a cost recovery system, so by failing to recycle, it only boosts utility bills. More waste also means more landfills - and subsequently less land for other things, such as homes or parks.

I went home and did a non-scientific audit of my own garbage. I live alone, don’t produce that much garbage and thought I was doing quite well. 

The result: I was only diverting between 15 and 20 per cent of my waste from the landfill, well below the town average.

As someone with a keen interest in environmental issues, this shocked me. I, like much of North America, know the consequences of failing to divert waste. I know how consuming this much is unsustainable from a global standpoint. I know how some of the items I was putting in the trash has the potential to poison drinking water or fail to biodegrade in a landfill for generations.

So what was my problem?

There is a disconnect between understanding and learned behaviour. The municipality is trying to make it easier to recycle in Jasper (compared to other communities, it’s already ridiculously easy) and change behaviour for the better. There are sociological reasons, and the need to change activities from trends to social norms. It’s easy to blame your neighbour for failing to change. 

It’s harder to do it yourself.

There is hope. Younger Jasperites will not let you trash recycleables (just try and toss a pop can in the trash with an eight-year-old around). In writing the story for next week, I’ll try and increase my own waste diversion patterns. Hopefully, by providing you with the correct information, you will do the same.

DISCLAIMER: The Last Word is an opinion column, it is meant to provoke thought and debate. As such, any opinions written here are the writers own and do not reflect the viewpoint of any other Fitzhugh staff member or the directors of the Jasper Media Group Inc.