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the HERALD Page 16B Environment Wednesday September 4 1991 Continued waste of food will eat up resources By BARBARA HALSALL Immoral Waste Is per cent by weight of our residential garbage edible food Instead of digging up ancient civilizations Bill a pro fessor of anthropology at the University of Arizona began in 1973 to examine fresh trash in his Garbage Project He and his team have since moved on to ex cavating landfills across the US He finds that Americans are throwing out per cent by weight of edible food In an article in the May issue of the National Georgraphic Prof com pares the present American situation to the Classic period of the ancient Maya civilization which he describes as a period of profligate waste This was follow ed by a period of decline The Maya woke up and discovered resources were in No signs of Loosestrife Purple Loosestrife more com monly known as the monster plant among wetland ists hasnt invaded inspected banks of the Credit River in Halton Hills Credit Valley Conservation Authority Biologist Bob Morris and Town councillor Marilyn Ser- jeanston walked the river in Cedarvale Park pa- of Silver Creek and in Hungry Hollow Wednesday and saw no Pi pie Loosestrife I was happy we didnt find any said Coun Serjeanston following the walk The plant displaces the natural vegetation found in wetlands that provide food shelter and habitat for marsh wildlife Mr Morris said he only witnessed spotty signs of loosestrife on wetland areas at the Ninth Line and Sideroad Its important to take periodic inventory of areas where the plant could flourish in order to prevent any such happening ex plained Mr Morns Once the plant becomes established in an area its almost impossible to destroy it he said Harvest celebration Celebrate Ontarios bountiful harvest at the Ontario Agricultural Museum As part of the annual Harvest Festival the museum will be hosting a Farmers Market on Sunday September from am to 5 Local producers will offer visitors the opportunity to pur chase a wide variety of homegrown produce including vegetables apples horiey and preserves In addition several Commodity Boards and Associa tions will be on hand to provide information regarding Ontario- grown food This years Harvest Festival and Farmers Market features a country fresh bake table a heavyhorse ploughing match farming and domestic activities performed by costumed inter preters Visitors will also have the op portunity to meet local artist Karl whose work focuses on children A variety of his prints will be on display and available for purchase Explore over 30 buildings and displays throughout the museums 32hectare site Tractordrawn wagon rides pic nic and catering facilities and a gift shop featuring Canadian souvenirs are available To reach the museum located just west of Milton take Highway 401 to exit 320 or 312 north and follow the signs Come enjoy a day in the country this fall and take part in the bountiful event on Sunday Septembers short supply and they became very efficient very fast they recycled and reused But it was loo late He sees the Americans as still throwing out tremendous amounts of resources on a daily basis He feels that if they became efficient now that their way of life could be sustained for a much longer time Bui are Canadians throwing out that much edible food We are about to find out Region has voted to fund some of Prof digging that will take place in Ontario hoping to learn more about our waste stream and how we can better deal with it We all dutifully save leftovers but do we eat them The comedian George Carlin has a comment on leftovers that something like this When you first put leftovers in the fridge you feel really intelligent Im saving food After a month when hair is growing out of them and you throw them away you feel really intelligent Im saving my life If we threw out less edible food we would save money and more important we would save the resources needed to produce and package that food As well we would save space in landfills and One problem is knowing how to use up the bits and pieces that ac cumulate in the fridge I will share one thing that has worked well at our house I hope some of you reading this will pass on your best ideas so that I can share them in future columns If you have leftover spaghetti sauce add some chili powder as you put it away For a tasty lunch or snack split leftover ham burger buns and spread a couple of spoonfuls on half a bun Heat under the broiler until steam comes out Remove and add grated chees Leftover spaghetti sauce and hamburger buns are eaten up with people looking for more Lets learn from history We still have time to change our habits This is not something that we must wait for the government to act on food waste is happening in your kitchen today YOU CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE Make your move WITH US LANDFLLL The Interim Waste Authority Ltd 1 an of the provincial government has been formed to un dertake three concurrent site searches in the Greater Toronto Area GTA one in Peel Region one for MetroYork Regions and one in Durham Region Public open houses were recently conducted in each region to inform these communities about the search for new landfill sites Now is the time for you to work with the to assess what issues are important to your community and to incorporate your concerns and criteria into the selection of the optimum landfill site for Peel Region To reach these goals public workshops have been planned in your area order to receive vital background information prior to the workshops isted below please Re turn the coupon below or call the toll number indicated Workshops Tuesday September 7 630945 PM 2 Thursday September 1 3 Saturday September 21 845 AM 345 PM Yes I want to participate in finding a new landfill site I would like to register for the following ID 2D 3D I would like more Information Put my name on your mailing list I would like tacorrespond with you In French English Pour renseignements en francals composer Complete and mail coupon to Mr Robert Sculthorpe Peel Landfill Site Search Public Information Office 720 Street Suite Toronto Ontario M5S2R4 Phone Fax 4165387301 Name Address Postal Code Telephone Interim Authority