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www.oakvillebeaver.com The Oakville Beaver, Friday July 11, 2008 - 29 Your Halton Connection July 2008 www.halton.ca More Blue and Green for a Better Planet by Regional Chair Gary Carr www.halton.ca/takeitback HALTON Thank you Halton residents! On April 7, 2008, Halton Region launched its new waste management collection programs: weekly collection of Blue Box recycling and GreenCart organics, and every other week collection of garbage. Thank you to all Halton residents for making the new waste collection programs such a success. Approximately 80% of all households are now using their GreenCart on a weekly basis and the volume of Blue Box materials collected at the curb has also increased 60 per cent. The quality of materials being collected is quite high, meaning there has been very little contamination from unacceptable materials in the GreenCart and Blue Box. By The Numbers* (between April 7 and May 2, 2008) 5,920 tonnes of Blue Box and GreenCart materials collected 3,963 tonnes of yard waste collected 6,003 tonnes of garbage and bulk materials collected 31,915 page views of Halton Region's website "Search by Address" tool at www.halton.ca * 1 tonne is 1,000 kg (or 2,204 lbs) Take It Back! Halton is a program that allows residents to return household items to participating retailers to ensure they are reused, recycled, or disposed of in an environmentally safe way. Items currently accepted by Take It Back! Halton partners include: Batteries (rechargeable and disposable) Car Oil Cell phones Cork Eye glasses Ink cartridges Light bulbs Medications Plastic shopping bags Refrigerators, freezers, air conditioners Sharps (needles, syringes, lancets) During the first month of the new programs, almost 62 per cent of curbside material collected was diverted away from the landfill! During the same time period in 2007, the waste diversion rate was only 35 per cent. During the first month of our new programs, the amount of garbage (including bulk) being sent to landfill decreased by 20 per cent! These initial numbers are very encouraging and I hope that each and every resident will continue to reduce, reuse and recycle materials where possible. While the waste diversion rate needs to be averaged over a full calendar year (final results will not be available until spring 2009) Halton Region is well on its way to reaching the goal of diverting 60 per cent of waste away from the landfill. The diversion rate for 2007 was 42 per cent. The purpose of the new waste management programs is to divert waste from Halton's landfill site which will help protect the environment, reduce greenhouse gas emissions improving air quality and create useful recycling and compost products, all for a better planet. For a list of Take It Back! Halton partners or to become a partner, please visit www.halton.ca/takeitback or call Halton Region at 905-825-6000, 1-866-4HALTON (1-866-442-5866), TTY 905-827-9833. To help divert even more material following: Donate large items such as furniture and sports equipment to a local charity instead of placing it out for bulk collection. Call the charity beforehand to ensure they can accept the items. Take household hazardous waste such as paint, motor oil, bleach and batteries to the Household Hazardous Waste Depot located at the Halton Waste Management Site, 5400 Regional Road 25, Milton. Details can be found at www.halton.ca/waste. What's Next? Want to learn more? To find out more information on all of Halton's waste management programs and services, call 905-825-6000, toll free 1-866-4HALTON (1-866-442-5866) or visit www.halton.ca. The next phase of the GreenCart program includes investigating the implemention of the GreenCart at townhouse complexes and apartment buildings. The Region is exploring multi-residential food waste composting pilot programs in other Municipalities in order to determine the size of bins and level of collection necessary to make the GreenCart program an even larger success. Halton will continue to implement additional initiatives outlined in the 2006-2010 Solid Waste Management Strategy in order to enhance opportunities for residents to divert waste away from the landfill. View this Strategy online at www.halton.ca/waste. Meetings at Halton Region Headquarters July 8, 9:30 a.m. July 9, 9:30 a.m. July 9, 1:30 p.m. July 16, 9:30 a.m. Health & Social Services Committee Administration & Finance Committee Planning & Public Works Committee Regional Council Meeting We welcome your feedback. Contact Access Halton at accesshalton@halton.ca This page has been donated by this newspaper to communicate important information to Halton residents at no cost to taxpayers.