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County OKs new waste management plan

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In Simcoe County
Jul 4th, 2010
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By IAN MCINROY Orillia Packet and Times July 3 2010
Simcoe County’s solid waste management strategy was passed by county councillors earlier this week.
It will investigate short-and long-term approaches to handling waste over the next two decades, which will maximize waste diversion over the next 20 years and bring the county closer to its goal of zero waste.

The county now diverts 57% — triple the amount in 2003 — of residential waste from its landfills, which was among the highest in the province based on 2008 statistics.
Initiatives in the strategy include enhanced reduction and re-use programs and educating residents about those programs, as well as developing an in-county organics processing capacity.
In 2009, Simcoe County managed over 100,000 tonnes of residential waste collected at depots and at the curb.
“The strategy is a road map for us that gives us recommendations and timelines for many initiatives,” said Willma Bureau, contract and collections supervisor for the county. She said it will evolve over time. “There are still decisions to be made over many years.”
Some of those decisions would include: identifying programs and approaches to improve diversion; determining if the county should build recycling or composting facilities, or ship materials to an outside processor; selecting the best approach to collect and transfer waste; and considering short and long-term garbage disposal requirements.
Council can decide to speed up different areas of the strategy if it chooses, Bureau said.
The strategy was not intended to identify specific processing or disposal technologies.
There are currently four landfills operating in the county. Three are for municipal-type solid waste, with about seven years of combined capacity remaining.There is also a landfill for inert material from industrial and construction sources.
The majority of recyclables are processed outside the county and organic material is processed in Hamilton.
There is a one-bag per household limit throughout the county.
Waste reduction, re-use and other diversion programs will drive the strategy, Bureau said. “The priority in the strategy is to reduce waste in the first place.”
Part of that reduction could hit the pocketbook of homeowners, especially those who can’t squeeze a week’s worth of garbage into one bag or (approved) container.
Council will consider three options when it comes to curb-side pickup: a full user-pay system (whatever you put out, you pay for), a one-bag strict limit or an increase in the cost of tags.
The initiative of the strategy would look into new diversion centres at landfills that would see items being set aside that could be reused instead of left in the landfill. Or inert material that is currently being sent to the three active landfills could be diverted to the inert-only site, where it would be ground up.
“It’s still landfilled but takes up less space,” Bureau said.
There has been a great deal of public input into strategy thus far, she said.
“The steering committee met eight times over the seven-or eight-month process. There were consultations in February and May, which were well attended,” Bureau said, adding councillors will decide if there should be a yearly review of the strategy or perhaps an open house.
The document already has to be reviewed every four years.
“There will be opportunity for more public input into the strategy,” she said.
“The success of our waste management system is contingent on the dedication of our residents carrying out the programs we have put in place,” Warden Cal Patterson said.

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