October 6, 2006 Source: :
http://www.news.utoronto.ca/bin6/061006-2615.asp U of T students, alumni and
faculty talk trash Festival
highlights one of city’s key issues
Oct 6/06
by Mary Alice Thring (about) (email) >From dust bunnies to landfill, we are surrounded by detritus all the time.
In a timely assemblage of artists, musicians, writers and philosophers,
Toronto is being treated to a festival of garbage. From Oct. 5 to 28 at
venues across the city, creative minds will be looking at what we throw away
and how that reflects on who we are. The Festival of Trash is a production of Alphabet City, the Canadian
think-tank founded by U of T alumnus John Knechtel, and coincides with the
publication of a sleek tome entitled, appropriately, Trash. Among the
collection of photographs and essays is Professor Pierre Belanger’s in-depth
examination of the Michigan landfills that are the recipients of Toronto’s
garbage. "Waste is an important industry," says Belanger, who teaches at the Faculty
of Architecture, Landscape, and Design. "A lot of people in Michigan
actually support it," Belanger said, noting that local counties benefit
economically and taxes and fees pay for fire halls, ball diamonds and parks.
"Garbage will always be with us and it has to go somewhere. Having looked
closely at Michigan I can tell you the problem doesn’t lie with landfills.
The key is separating at source, which they’re much better at in Europe. The
largest component in our garbage is still paper. It’s not until we reach a
material understanding of the economies of scale, and realize that producers
and consumers are ultimately responsible, that we will truly get a handle on
this." As part of the festival’s activities, a Garbage Town Hall will be
facilitated by MBA students from the Rotman School of Management Net Impact
Club, which is devoted to developing socially responsible corporations. The
town hall is slated for the MaRS building Oct. 21 from 2 to 4 p.m. Alphabet City is known for re-envisioning and rethinking ideas through words
and visual arts. "We think through in all sorts of fundamental ways and at
the same time drive the conversation down to practical matters," founder
Knechtel says. "We knew even last year that the whole topic of trash would be vitally
relevant to the city this fall," Knechtel says. "We have brought together
some extraordinary talent in public policy, music and visual arts. The
festival is creating an opportunity to get the city looking at and talking
about its trash and asking what an ecological sustainable city might look
like." Visit alphabet-city.org for more information.
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