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17 | O akville B eaver | T hursday,S eptem ber 5,2019 insidehalton.com Apply today. Start this month. mohawkcollege.ca/sameday Come in today to Fennell Campus in Hamilton and find out if you are accepted the same day or apply online! 40%Off 40% off any order of $1000 or more. 30% off any order of $700 or more. On any complete Closet, Garage or Home Office. Free installation with any complete unit order of $500 or more.With incoming order, at time of purchase only. Plus Free InstallatIon Imagine your home, totally organized! Custom Closets, Garage Cabinets, Home Offices, Pantries, Laundries, and Hobby Rooms Call for a free in home design consultation and estimate www.closetsbydesign.ca 844-612-9943 OB 2013 © All Rights Reserved. Closets by Design, Inc. Follow us SPECIAL FINANCING FOR 12 MONTHS! With approved credit. Call or ask your Designer for details. Ontario's Blue Box pro- gram has worked well over many years, in diverting waste from our landfills and helping to keep our en- vironment clean. It is a great example of thinking globally and acting locally. Across Ontario, 240 mu- nicipalities use the Blue Box to recycle and divert waste. In Halton Region, we di- vert 58 per cent of residen- tial waste. This number has remained consistent for the past few years, andfor the past few years, andf we can be proud that Hal- ton is highest in waste di- version in Ontario. Yet, about 70 per cent of Onta- rio's waste still goes to landfills - including up to 30 per cent of what's put in the Blue Box. We need to get these numbers down - and your government has a plan to do so. Currently, the cost for waste diversion is split be- tween municipalities, and producers of products and packaging. Your govern- ment is going to make this fairer by requiring pro-fairer by requiring pro-f ducers to pay the full cost of waste diversion through the Blue Box. Making waste produc- ers pay the full cost of the Blue Box will encourage them to create less waste, develop a standard list of recyclable materials prov- incewide and save taxpay- ers' money. When fully im- plemented, the new Blue Box program will save mu- nicipalities between $125 to $175 million every year - money that we will not have to pay through our property taxes. In Halton Region, this could mean a saving of close to $3 million each year. As part of our made-in- Ontario environment plan (ontario.ca/page/made- in-ontario-environment- plan) Ontario is taking ac- tion to improve recycling across the province and address the serious prob- lem of plastic pollution and litter. Making the Blue Box system better is an im- portant part of our plan. To preserve our envi- ronment, we must divert more of Ontario's waste from landfills - and en-from landfills - and en-f courage waste producers to cut back on excess pack- aging. Our new Blue Box system will help with both of these goals, and also start to recycle materials that were unsafe or un- practical to put in a Blue Box. Every time we put something in the Blue Box we are acting locally for our environment. We want to take the plan to the next level, increasing recycling rates and making it easier for people in our commu-for people in our commu-f nity to recycle. Effie Triantafilopoulos is the MPP for Oakville North-Burlington. MAKING A GOOD BLUE BOX PROGRAM BETTER OPINION WASTE PRODUCERS WILL PAY MORE, WRITES TRIANTAFILOPOULOS EFFIE TRIANTAFIL- OPOULOS Column