Clear plastic garbage bags may soon be making an appearance on a street corner near you. A number of communities in Nova Scotia, such as Digby County, are putting a lot more transparency into what people in their communities throw out.

According to CBC's Sounds like Canada, the city of Halifax, Nova Scotia, has, for eleven years now, opened each and every garbage bag, and diverted recyclables, as part of its committment to reduce its municipal waste stream by 60%. Halifax claims to be the only municipality in Canada that does this.

Now, along with a number of other Nova Scotia municipalities, Halifax is requiring transparent plastic garbage bags at the curb. Transparent garbage bags allow trash collectors to examine the contents of the bag at curbside. Bags containing recyclables, organic waste, or toxic materials are left at the curb. For items requiring discretion, an opaque plastic shopping bag is placed inside the transparent garbage bag.