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10 - The Oakville Beaver, Friday March 7, 2008 www.oakvillebeaver.com Stamp of approval Halton Region defers bottom ash decision By Melanie Hennessey SPECIAL TO THE BEAVER LIESA KORTMANN / OAKVILLE BEAVER MAIL IT WITH FLOWERS: Oakville resident John Simkins gives his stamp of approval to the release of two Canada Post stamps dedicated to peonies. Simkins is a well-known gardening expert and founder of the Canadian Peony Society. Helping him hold a plaque commemorating the stamps is Sheila Black of Canada Post. Halton Regional council has put off making a decision on whether the municipality's landfill should accept bottom ash from Peel's energy-fromwaste facility until next month. At last week's meeting, council voted to defer the item at the request of the Peel Region chair so that Peel staff can come to Halton to speak to the issue. Last week, the planning and public works committee endorsed a motion that said no to taking the bottom ash -- an inert byproduct from the incineration process that's collected from the bottom of the furnace. Region staff had recommended the bottom ash be trucked to the Halton Waste Management Site to use as a daily cover, which is a material placed over the garbage in the landfill each day to control things like blowing litter. Accepting the material would generate anywhere from $700,000 to $1 million per year in revenues for Halton's waste management program. Currently, the Region uses a combination of tarps and onsite clay as a daily cover. But, staff has found there are a few disadvantages to using clay, such as the fact it doesn't spread uniformly when it's wet or cold. Before deferring the matter, council heard from Oakvillegreen, which once again stated its opposition to taking the bottom ash because of the potential threat the group feels it poses to the environment and human health. A staff report on the topic said the bottom ash is "tested regularly and is consistently deemed non-hazardous." Oakville Councillor Allan Elgar, who put forward the motion last week to reject the bottom ash, pointed out that the Region previously said Halton's landfill is for Halton residents, meaning it doesn't accept waste from other municipalities. He asked staff if this statement is still true today. "Generally no, we do not accept waste from other municipalities," said Halton Commissioner of Planning and Public Works Peter Crockett. "Bottom ash, in the way we're proposing to use it, is not waste." He said the ash wouldn't take any more capacity out of the landfill because daily cover is already being put on in the same or greater quantities. "It's a beneficial reuse of the bottom ash product," he said. Burlington Councillor John Taylor noted that Halton does export some of its waste to other municipalities, such as garbage from the industrial-commercial-institutional sector that's trucked to the United States. The issue is slated to go before the planning and public works committee on Wednesday, March 19. TOTAL ART FRAME FORMERLY FRAME EXPRESS 2 HOUR CUSTOM FRAMING SERVICE ORIGINAL PAINTINGS, FINE ART PRINTS & CUSTOM-MADE MIRRORS ALL UP TO 70% OFF 360 DUNDAS ST., E. (AT TRAFALGAR) OAKVILLE 905.257.0114 MON.-WED. 10-7, THURS.-FRI. 10-8, SAT. 10-6 Foreign-trained but can't find a job in your field? If you're a foreign-trained professional or business person looking for a job, improve your English and Canadian job search skills with... Enhanced Language Training for Internationally Educated Professionals and Business People 8-week programs are FREE to qualified applicants and take place in Burlington. For more information, call 905-333-3499, ext. 264 or visit www.thecentre.on.ca This program is funded by Skills Development & Training The Centre