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www.oakvillebeaver.com Living Oakville Beaver LIVING EDITOR: ANGELA BLACKBURN The Oakville Beaver, Wednesday March 26, 2008 - 15 Phone: 905-845-3824, ext. 248 Fax: 905-337-5567 e-mail: angela@oakvillebeaver.com GreenCart arrives in Oakville April 7 By Melanie Hennessey SPECIAL TO THE BEAVER I RON KUZYK / OAKVILLE BEAVER GOING GREEN: Oakville's Smeenk family receives one of the first GreenCart organics recycling bins as GreenCarts arrive in Oakville. On hand for the occasion are: in back from left, Halton Regional Councillor John Taylor, Mayor Rob Burton, Halton Region Chair Gary Carr and Thomas Smeenk, as well as other Smeenk family members including, in middle row from left, Olivia, 12, Sandy, Taylor, 15, and, in front, Austin, 11. useful product, even help reduce the overall carbon footprint of the landfill. It's reasons like these that should provide all the incentive residents need to fully participate in Halton Region's new GreenCart program. The GreenCart, which will act as a Blue Box for kitchen scraps, comes as part of Halton's new waste collection program slated to start April 7. It will include weekly Blue Box and GreenCart collection -- and bi-weekly garbage collection with a six-bag limit. Currently, there's bi-weekly Blue Box collection and weekly garbage pick-up with a six-bag limit. "By making these changes, Halton Region has the opportunity to divert 60 per cent of its residential waste away from the landfill," said Regional Chair Gary Carr, noting this will be up from the current diversion rate of 43 per cent and will extend the life of the landfill by seven years. "Many neighbouring cities and regions have implemented similar programs and are now achieving high rates of waste diversion from the landfill." The most notable difference in the new program is the GreenCart, which residents should either have already received or will receive shortly. Each home will also get a Kitchen Catcher, which is a smaller bin that can be put under the sink and then emptied later into the larger GreenCart. Halton Director of Waste Management Rob Rivers acknowledged that for some people, the notion of using a GreenCart might seem like a big effort at first. "However, if you think about it all we're asking you to do is to separate your "By making these changes, Halton Region has the t's good for the environment. It will opportunity to divert 60 per cent also extend the life of the Halton of its residential waste Waste Management Site, create a away from the landfill." Gary Carr, Halton Region Chair food scraps and some low-grade papers into the GreenCart and not your regular garbage bag or can," he said. "The GreenCart is the next step in waste diversion, and for some it will take some time to get used to, but it will quickly become habit for them." There are many incentives to use the GreenCart, according to Rivers. "By starting and participating in the program now, the residents will benefit by acquiring an additional seven years of landfill life for the Halton Waste Management Site," he pointed out. "It's important that we maximize and extend the life of the landfill as long as possible." Since the Region will be composting the GreenCart contents, Rivers noted the process will also produce a valuable resource. Composting and diverting more waste from the landfill also reduces the overall carbon footprint created by the Halton Waste Management Site and its greenhouse gas emissions, he said. "Besides, it's the right thing to do from an environmental standpoint so that we leave a better world for future generations to deal with," he said. The Region has been conducting a pilot program of the GreenCart in more than 5,000 homes throughout Halton and found that 37 per cent of the households participate. Rivers said the number is lower than what the Region had originally anticipated, but with garbage collection switching See GreenCart page 16 Getting to know the ins and outs of the GreenCart What's going to change, effective April 7? · Garbage will be collected every other week, with a six-bag limit · Blue Boxes will be collected every week, and papers and containers no longer have to be sorted separately · Green Carts will be collected every week · Yard waste will be collected every other week on the same day as garbage collection (urban areas only) · Bulk waste collection will take place once every four weeks with a three-item limit on the same day as garbage collection (all urban areas and rural Burlington and Milton). There will be seven collection dates per household this year. · Metal and appliances will be collected on a call-in basis for all urban areas and rural Burlington and Milton What can I put in my GreenCart? · Bread, cereal, oatmeal, baked goods and pizza · Candy · Coffee grounds and filters, tea bags · Dairy products · Eggs and egg shells · Fruits and vegetables, corn cobs and husks and pumpkins · Meat, fish and shellfish (including bones) · Nuts and nutshells · Pasta, couscous, potatoes, rice, flour and grains · Sauces, dressing, syrup, peanut butter and jam · Fats and oils, gravy, butter and margarine · Soiled paper towels, facial tissues and paper towel and toilet paper rolls · Soiled paper food packaging, cardboard egg cartons, greasy pizza boxes, paper plates and cups, take-out food trays and containers · Houseplants · Hair, pet hair, feathers, nail clippings and dryer lint · Popsicle sticks, toothpicks, woodchips, sawdust and cold wood ashes in paper bags. For more information, including a list of what's not acceptable in the GreenCart system, visit www.halton.ca.