Montreal City Weblog

Kate 18:54 on 2020-12-31 Permalink Reply  

• MarcG 20:01 on 2020-12-31 Permalink

  I already saw one this evening uncermoniously chucked in the gutter

• Mark Côté 15:48 on 2021-01-01 Permalink

  This made me chuckle:

  2. Put in on the sidewalk with the base facing the street
  3. Make sure it’s not obstructing the sidewalk

  Not sure of the average size of tree here but I definitely could not put mine *on* the sidewalk without also obstructing it… But I usually put mine on the lawn close to the sidewalk.

• Bert 16:02 on 2021-01-01 Permalink

  Interesting that for the purchase of a durable electronic good there is an environment handling fee. But for a durable good that is effectively destroyed by it’s purchase, the disposal is free

• dhomas 18:10 on 2021-01-01 Permalink

  Next year, I’m thinking of getting something like this instead of a cut tree:
  https://houblonsfranklin.com/produits/fr/le-titi-sapin-p160/
  I don’t really understand how cheap cut Christmas trees are. Seems unsustainable.
  But @Bert about your comment, trees are pretty much compostable, whereas electronic goods will need to be processed at the end of their lifecycle.

• Bert 19:33 on 2021-01-01 Permalink

  And doesn’t composting require processing? Turning over the compost pile, etc. Add to that that once dead, the tree off-gasses CO2. If the only thing is that these carbon sinks are intentionally destroyed and not put to practical use (e.g.making 2X4) seems such a waste.

• Kate 19:34 on 2021-01-01 Permalink

  The city chips the trees it picks up and uses the result for garden mulch. A low-tech but effective process (and it also smells great if you’re anywhere nearby). I don’t think it’s the same process as composting.

• Chris 12:50 on 2021-01-02 Permalink

  Bert, it’s not that you’re strictly wrong, it’s just that there’s orders of magnitude difference between biodegrading a tree vs all the water, fossil fuel, rare earth metal, etc. that goes into making electronic trinkets. It’s like you’re worried about a single dripping faucet when a 2 metre water main is broken.