Letter from Ontario Zero Waste Coalition

September 2nd, 2009
Hello Everyone:
On behalf of the Ontario Zero Waste Coalition I sent the following letter to all Mayor’s, Councillors,
municpalities in the Simcoe area with the following attachments. A few municipalities don’t have an email
system that will allow for the attachments. In those cases I am sending them hard copies of everything by
snail mail.
-Liz
Dear Mayors, Councillors and Leaders in Simcoe:
As Founder of the Ontario Zero Waste Coalition I was pleased to hear that Simcoe County councillors
have approved a one-year moratorium on work at Site 41. I was also pleased to read of Tiny Township’s
resolution to revoke the Certificate of Approval and start work on a Waste Management Master Plan.
The problem of waste generation is complex and there is no magic bullet that will solve the problem
however there are many effective ways to reduce waste that make financial sense for municipalities,
protect human health, foster new businesses and jobs and preserve the environment.
Green bin programs, take-it-back plans, special event recycling, Zero Waste policies put in place at the
municipal level, working with the Province to support its recent Waste Diversion Act (WDA) Review
with a focus on moving to Zero Waste, are all ways Simcoe can reduce waste. Public education and
cooperating with citizen- and local business-led initiatives are others. I urge you to use this opportunity to
explore Zero Waste solutions and also urge you not to fall prey to the incinerator industry who will be sure
to come courting.
Incinerators are expensive, polluting black holes for municipalities looking for waste solutions. Also, they
do not eliminate the need for landfills as 30% of everything that is burned ends up as ash that must be
landfilled, with a portion of that ash being highly contaminated fly ash that can only be landfilled, at great
expense, at specially constructed hazardous waste dumps. The other 70% is released into the atmosphere
creating invisible, but still dangerous, landfills in the sky.
I have attached a letter I sent to Honourable John Gerretsen, Minister of the Environment last year that
outlined our concerns about incineration. I am pleased to note that he has subsequently shifted support and
focus to Zero Waste as I mentioned above (please see his letter also attached.) It is my understanding that
recommendations from the WDA Review will be unveiled this fall. I have also attached a Backgrounder
on Zero Waste.
I have much more information available that may be of help to you. If you are interested in receiving any
of it, or discussing Zero Waste options further, please feel free to contact me.
Liz Benneian
905-562-3819