County’s waste efforts hailed

Simcoe County ranked second in waste diversion in the province
By Doug Glynn Barrie Examiner – February 10 2011
Two founding members of Zero Waste Simcoe have welcomed reports  that Simcoe County has been ranked second in waste diversion among 217 Ontario municipalities.
Gordon McKay and Ray Millar credited the county’s stepped-up diversion efforts and the co-operation of county residents in helping reduce the amount of material going into waste disposal sites.

Results of the annual Datacall (Ontario’s standardized waste reporting and calculation process) indicate the county Simcoe County had a 57% diversion rate in 2009, an increase from the 33% posted in 2006.
McKay, now Mayor of Midland, said he is appreciative of the fact the county came second and he is looking for it to be first next time.
“The next major challenge will be to get producers on side and start putting in place effective producer responsibility programs.   To achieve that will require not only grassroots action on the streets of Midland and throughout the county,” he said, “but also by talking to our provincial Masters and letting them appreciate they have to change the whole waste structure for this province.”
Millar – now Mayor of Tiny Township – said that having significantly reduced the amount of material going into landfills,
“Now is not the time to let up.  Diversion efforts will only take us so far.  It is time we turned our minds towards reducing the volume of waste produced.
“We can do that by both pushing and working collaboratively with our provincial and federal governments to adopt a policy framework of extended producer responsibility,” Millar added.
Zero Waste Simcoe is a grassroots environmental group dedicated to helping Simcoe County become a Zero Waste community.
Its objectives – as set out in its mission statement – involve educating the community and having waste producers take responsibility and shifting the cost of waste from taxpayers to producer.
Rob McCullough, the county’s director of solid waste management, said the accomplishment “hasn’t been easy.  We have achieved this by implementing comprehensive waste management programs, that include curbside collection enhancements, the green bin organics collection program, additional blue box materials, and progressive waste policies (one-bag limit) for garbage.”
Perhaps a more telling statistic, said McCullough, is the tonnage of material sent for disposal per person; in this regard, there are 14 municipalities in Ontario that currently have better records than the County.”
Warden Cal Patterson credited the dedication of residents in carrying out the programs the county has put in place.””We are working to bring further waste diversion and reduction programs into place this year, and in the near future, to meet our aggressive waste goal of 77% reduction-diversion set in last year’s waste management strategy,” Patterson added.

County of Simcoe ranked 2nd in waste diversion

News release from Simcoe County February 9, 2010 

When it comes to taking out the trash, the County of Simcoe is ranked second in 

diversion among 217 municipalities across the province.

Recently released results from the annual Datacall (Ontario’s standardized waste reporting and calculation 

process) show Simcoe County with a 57 per cent diversion rate in 2009, an incredible increase from the 33 per 

cent posted in 2006.

“It hasn’t been easy,” said  Rob McCullough, Director of Solid Waste Management. “We have achieved this by 

implementing comprehensive waste management programs.”

These programs include curbside collection enhancements, the green bin organics collection program, additional 

blue box materials, and progressive waste policies (one-bag limit) for garbage. At waste management facilities, 

the County has launched diversion programs for items such as asphalt shingles, drywall, and wood.

“We should take pride in our successes, which is contingent on the dedication of our residents carrying out the 

programs we have put in place,” said County Warden Cal Patterson. “We  are  working to bring further waste 

diversion and reduction programs into place this year, and in the near future, to meet our aggressive waste goal 

of 77 per cent reduction/diversion set in last year’s Waste Management Strategy.”

While the results are positive, McCullough said it is important not to rely heavily on the annual Datacall statistics, 

as it is very difficult to accurately compare one municipality to another. Perhaps  a  more telling statistic, said 

McCullough, is the tonnage of material sent for disposal per person; in this regard, there are 14 municipalities in 

Ontario that currently have better records than the County.

The County of Simcoe is composed of sixteen member municipalities and provides crucial public services to 

County residents in addition to providing paramedic and social services to the separated cities of Barrie and 

Orillia. Visit our website at simcoe.ca.