I have a confession. I don’t compost. 

I’d like to think I’m environmentally conscious. I mean, I recycle everything else. I even have a handy little station in my kitchen with different bags for cardboard, tin cans, newspaper, white paper, glass and bottles.

So the effort and thought is there, but I’ve never taken the time to take up composting.

It was never something that was readily available to me. That is of course until I moved to Jasper. And now that I’m here and there is a specific bin for compostable items right next to my garbage bin, I feel guilty every time I take out my trash. I try to divert my eyes and pretend it’s not there, but I can feel its presence. I can feel it glaring at me, and I know it’s thinking I’m an awful human being on a mission to bury and waste valuable organics that could otherwise become rich, nutritious soil.

So, for the sake of my psychological well being, I’ve decided, nearly a month early, that my new year’s resolution is to start composting. 

I figure the two weeks between now and New Year’s Day will give me time to eat a four-litre tub of ice cream. That way I’ll have a bucket to put my waste in. Not a bad trade off, right?

Now I will admit that this isn’t all spurred on by my relationship with the bin outside my apartment. I was also inspired by Christina Seidel, a waste reduction consultant, who presented some information to town council last week.

She said that organics and cardboard are the two areas where waste diversion can be substantially increased in Jasper.

Currently the Jasper area has about a 25 per cent waste diversion rate. Seidel said if the municipality develops an aggressive social marketing campaign and makes a few tweaks to its existing programs, she’s confident that number can increase to 50 per cent or more.

With that, I decided to take Seidel up on her challenge – not that I create enough organic waste to make up 25 per cent of the municipality’s trash, but I’m sure I can make a small difference.

My mom always said, every little bit counts. So in this case, I’ll take her word for it.

And really, from what I’ve read, composting isn’t too difficult and it doesn’t take up much extra time. 

All you need is a bucket with a lid to put under your sink. You don’t even need bags. You just put a layer of newspaper down and then throw all of your egg shells and vegetable bits on top, until the tub is full and then you dump it in the compost bin when you take out the trash

It’s so simple and it takes the guilt out of taking out the garbage. 

If you want to join me in diverting organic waste from the transfer site and ultimately the landfill in Hinton, buy your bucket of ice cream today and get munching.

Or, to save yourself the belly ache, throw a banana-split New Year’s Eve party and share the ice cream with your friends.

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