33 | O akville B eaver | T hursday,N ovem ber 25,2021 insidehalton.com Constituency Office: stephen.crawfordco@pc.ola.org (905) 827-5141 74 Rebecca St. Oakville www.stephencrawfordmpp.ca @SCrawfordforOakville @stcrawford2 @stephen_crawford_for_oakville Stephen Crawford Member of Provincial Parliament for Oakville Building 640 long-term care beds. Provided $455,975 in 2021 to increase long-term care staffing levels. $830,200 in capital funding for a seniors' dental clinic. Contributed $22.1 million for transportation projects, including 57 zero- emission buses. Provincial Investments for Oakville $295 million to re-tool Ford Motor's Oakville Assembly Complex for electric vehicle production. Supporting A Taste of Oakville and the Annual Kerr Village Christmas Tree Lighting & Holiday Market with a total of $118,100. $665,000 for local non-profit organizations in the sport and culture sectors. Halton is seeking pub- lic input on its proposed solid waste management strategy, which includes measures such as reduc- ing the bi-weekly garbage bag limit to one by 2031. A series of virtual pub- lic information centres (PIC) have been planned on the topic for Novem- ber, along with an online survey that will remain open until Dec. 10. The proposed strategy includes medium (four to 10 years) and long-term (11-plus years) initiatives to increase the waste di- version rate, extend the life of the landfill and re- duce carbon emissions. "Reducing community waste and protecting the natural environment has always been a top priority for Halton Region and our residents," said regional chair Gary Carr. "Our proposed solid waste management strategy builds on our communi- ty's ongoing efforts and outlines how we can con- tinue to work together to improve our waste man- agement programs and services for you." According to Halton Region, it has already in- creased the waste diver- sion rate by more than 15 per cent and extended the life of the landfill by over 30 years since introducing the Green Cart program, enhancing the Blue Box program and implement- ing other improvements. The proposed strategy looks to build on this with measures that will maxi- mize the amount of waste being reduced, reused, re- cycled or composted. Potential initiatives in- clude: • Decreasing the gar- bage bag limit from three bags bi-weekly to two in 2023, then down to one in 2031 • Including more desig- nated materials in com- munity waste collection services, such as fabrics • Providing wheeled carts for automated curb- side collection of garbage, recyclables and house- hold organic waste • Improving waste di- version in apartment buildings through in- creased and targeted pro- motion and education, and limits on the amount of garbage being collect- ed. For further details on the proposed initiatives, to take the survey or reg- ister for a PIC, visit https://bit.ly/3D8yyY8. HALTON STRATEGY CALLS FOR LOWER GARBAGE BAG LIMIT AND MORE Residents can now provide their input on Halton's proposed solid waste management strategy. Graham Paine/Metroland MELANIE HENNESSEY mhennessey@metro land.com NEWS PROPOSED WASTE PLAN UP FOR FEEDBACK FROM RESIDENTS