Bylaw is against Tim Hortons policy

To the Editor,

It is with  great frustration that I write this letter to the editor, in hope that Bancroft council will focus on the issues facing our town, rather than being involved in matters that they have no information on, nor ask for consultation on.

I have been the operator of Tim Hortons in Bancroft since 2003.   In that time my staff and I have worked very hard on reducing waste, and have created an excellent recycling program, that has reduced waste going to landfill each year. No business in Bancroft deals with waste as much as we do, or contributes more to the cost of handling it with  the purchase of garbage tags.

Recently, Tim Hortons' head office conducted a detailed analysis of waste separation at locations across Canada, and found that in the  drive-thru garbage and recycling were  being contaminated almost 100 per cent of the time, whereas in the parking lot, people had more time to make the right choice and we were much more successful in sending “clean” garbage and recycling to the landfill.

With these findings, Tim Hortons decided we needed to take action and continue to do our part and maintain  the principles of reducing, reusing and recycling.

I realize moving the garbage cans in the  drive-thrus was not a popular decision, I understand that, and those who were taking the time to sort, are now paying for those who didn't.

Now, without any discussion, consultation, phone call to me, advice or communication, council has decided that they are the experts in running my business and have created a by-law to put garbage cans back in the  drive-thru...

Believe me, nothing sickens me more than seeing Tim Hortons garbage or any kind of waste on the side of our beautiful roads, and quite frankly, anyone who would actually throw anything out the window, instead of being slightly inconvenienced to clean out their car at home, needs their head examined.   However, for some strange reason council has decided that they understand this issue, again without any discussion, and think that having garbage cans in the drive-thru will cure this issue.

I hope that my customers appreciate the fact that we are constantly cleaning our lots to make a better environment for them, and the community, and the clean up efforts, not only on our lots, but with organized  community clean ups each spring, (Mark McGee Memorial Clean Up)  are part of our commitment to the place where we live.

To those who have been impacted by not having  drive-thru garbage cans in our  drive-thrus, I am sorry, and I hope you can understand the big picture, and the bigger issue we face with separation.

Council completely over stepped their boundaries with this decision, and have shown a huge lack of commitment to business and waste reduction. Please mention that to them, when you have the opportunity,

Thanks and please don't litter.

Glenn Keating

Tim Hortons Bancroft