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Scugog Township is a great place to recycle by Rob Streich .« Last month the residents of Scugog Township put more than 22 tons of recyclable materials at the curbside. That is two tons more than January and more than the months before that. Since Jane 1988, when Scu- gog and Uxbridge joined the ranks of the lakeshore municipalities in establishing a "Blue Box" pro- gram of recycling, the strain on the landfill has been reduced. Glenda Gies, General Manager of the Durham Recycling Centre Inc., has been very pleased with the progress to date. "Last year we gathered 11,887 tons in Durham Region," said Geis. "In 1989 we are predicting a 14,000 ton total." Getting the glass bottles, cans and papers to the curb is becom- ing a regular weekly routine for many local residents. Those who are not blessed with pickup are making a good show of using the drop off facilities at the Landfill an the Cartwright Tranfer sta- tion. There are of course the occas- sional problems, like the week immediately after New Years when everyone put out all their empty bottles and the Recycling fleet was overwhelmed with some 320 tonnes amongst 41 thousand boxes - the largest weck's load since the program began. This period served to high- light the difficulties which Dur- ham Recycling experiences from the lack of spare vehicles. The first week of March saw two of the trucks requiring servicing. Two out of 15 may not seem likc a grcat number but, when cach of those vehicles has an as- signed route everyday, who is go- ing to pick up the slack? It 1s not possible to substitute any old truck or van for the recy- cling vehicles, they are specially designed to accept the sorted mate- rials and make it easier to deliver them to the appropriate pile in the warchouse. Gies cautions area residents that some types of materials are not acceptable for recycling. Two loads of glass were rejected in the fall because of the presence of medical glass. . Evidently someone thought that glass prescription bottles, in- sulin ampules or veterinary glass- ware were recyclable. In fact these things are considered to be hazard- ous wastes, and are not supposed to be put out with household gar- bage uw ---- 25,000 sq uare fect. "Durham is currently remov- ing 14 to 15 per cent of its waste load through recycling. It is pos- sible to increase that further with composting which may achieve an added 30 per cent." The provincial Ministry of the Environment is looking at devel- oping a set of guidelines for com- posting. The Region is setting up a pi- lot project whereby homeowners would be encouraged to compost their "wet" waste. Durham will be offering simple composting drums and instructions to interest-- ed parties. Gies said that recycling is be- ginning to be a way of life for many people. "When they begin to use the blue box at home, they wonder why there isn't one at work as well?" In response to this growing awareness, many industries and in- stitutions have begun to contact Durham Recycling for informa- tion on setting up programs around the office. One area of enthusiastic assis- tance have been area schools which recycle fine paper. But these new participants are adding to the load which those 15 trucks need to carry. A recent problem which Geis discussed was the surplus of recy- cled newspaper in Ontario. Cur- rently, there is only one organiza- tion which accepts newsprint. Because so many people have responded to the call for recycling by turning in their old newspa- rs, Ontario Paper Co. has been orced to turn some away. This has also allowed them to buy the paper at a reduced rate. Geis explained that with newsprint making up the largest share of materials by volume, a $10 reduction per load adds up very quickly. She is hoping that when At- lantic Packaging builds their facil- ity at Thickson and the 401, com- petition may force the price up as they will be accepting 150,000 tons each year. Scugog may be ablc to recycle plastic soft drink bottles (PET) soon. The program has been very successful in Whitby, and it is hoped that it can be expanded to all the Regional municipalitics this year. With all of this new activity, the storage facility for Durham Recycling is getting cramped. They have proposed to council that an additional ten thousand square feet be added to the warce- house, bringing it to a total of i] 5 Tal 5 PORT PERRY STAR -- Tuesday, March 7, 1989 -- 35 Glenda Gles, General Manager of Durham Recycling Centre Inc., is very proud of the progress made to date, and excited about future opportunities. penis AREA AN A ERR © pS hand . SEE bd 44 ER She cau- tions area residents to only put specific glass, metal and papers into their blue- boxes for recycling. Come see Maple Syrup The Maple Syrup Demonstra- tion program at Purple Woods Conservation Area continues with weekend tours for public and community groups. Visitors will have an opportunity to see all aspects of syrup production on tours led by Authority staff, in- cluding Indian and pioneer methods. Sap is collected in metal buckets and also by pipeline, us- ing a vacuum pump. The sap is boiled down in a wood-fired evaporator at the sugar shack. For final heating, a finishing pan is used. Since propane is used at this stage, the temperature of the finishing pan can be finely con- trolled to produce the best quali- ty syrup. After checking for den- sity, colour and grade, the syrup is packaged for sale. Community groups are en- couraged to schedule weekend tours. Special arrangements can be made for disabled groups, in- cluding some weekday openings. 13409 in These are just some of the many blue boxes that have been distributed about Durham Region. In the past year of the recycling programs' operation, about 5 per cent of the boxes have been lost to damage, robbery and residents moving away. In the near future, these boxes may be moving into apartment buildings, and might be used for gathering hard plastics. All groups must contact the Authority office for reservations. Weekend tours will meet at the parking lot at 11:00 a.m., 1:00 p.m. and 2:30 p.m. Maple pro- ducts, including syrup, butter and sugar, will be available for sale. Also available this year is cook- ing syrup and recipe books, while they last. Tours will be available on the weekends of March 11 and 12; 24 to 27; and April 1 and 2. The annual pancake weekend will be BY CABINETIIAR held in co-operation with the Durham A.M. Kiwanis Club on March 18 and 19. Purple Woods Conservation Area is located north of Oshawa at the southeast corner of Simcoe Street at the 10th Concession Road. Admission, parking and guided tours are free. For further information, please contact the Central Lake Ontario Conserva- tion Authority at (416) 579-0411. ee SS Ihe EST. 1973 MAKERS OF: PAINTED PINE or NATURAL PINE REPRODUCTIONS and OAK FURNITURE REMINISCENT OF YEARS GONE BY CUSTOM WORK WELCOMED: Come in soon, browse through our showrooms; see and feel the warmth of COUNTRY PINE R.R. 2, UXBRIDGE - SANDY HOOK RD. (416) 852-3617 1 1/2 km. north of corners of Brock St. & Main St. Tues.-Sat. 9:30 - 5:30 * Construction Equipment -* Generators ~¢ * Compressors nz * Heavy Equipment v) * Scaffolds WO -- * Pumps 4 * Power Tools * Dollies * Texture Machines PARTY GOODS GAMES TABLES UXBRIDGE 5 9 Lh) * Ice Augers * Snow Blowers * Log Splitters * Floor Sanders * Carpet Steamers * Moving Equipment * Wallpaper Steamers * Rototillers * Lawn Mowers |