COURTICE -- A group of area citizens is hoping an upcoming information night will help people recognize Zero Waste as a viable long-term strategy aimed at eliminating the need for a proposed incinerator in Courtice.
A review of Ontario's Waste Diversion Act was prefaced by a recent letter from Environment Minister John Gerretsen, which spoke of "a new vision for waste management in Ontario that strives for zero waste."
That's a good start; now it's a matter of educating people about the Zero Waste strategy, Newcastle resident Wendy Bracken said.
Ms. Bracken is part of a group organizing the Zero Waste Information Night, set for Thursday, Nov. 27, from 7 to 9:30 p.m. at Faith United Church, 1778 Nash Rd., Courtice. The event includes showing the short movie, The Story of Stuff, with Annie Leonard, as well as three keynote speakers: Erin Shapero, a Markham councillor; Claudia Marsales, Markham's manager of waste management on Markham's Zero Waste strategy; and Dr. Sean Godfrey, chief of pediatrics at Lakeridge Health Oshawa, who will speak on links between incineration and health concerns.
Zero Waste has been misunderstood by many people, Ms. Bracken said.
"There are lots of people who still don't understand what Zero Waste is, that it's a strategy and a target," she said.
Mr. Gerretsen's comments are encouraging, Ms. Bracken said. Reducing waste at the front end could eliminate the need for incineration and dramatically reduce the need for landfill. Not only that, but it will force producers to "take on some responsibility," she said.
"If they start to force producers to be more responsible for their products, you're going to see declining waste streams."
As it stands, those who produce items that go directly into the garbage get a "free ride," while those who produce recyclable materials wind up holding the bag for half the cost of the Blue Box program, Ms. Bracken said. That's an issue the Association of Municipalities of Ontario has taken to the minister.
"The free riders have to start paying," Ms. Bracken said. "If they're going to create the waste, they will have to be responsible for the waste."
Society in general needs to be more accountable for the waste it produces, she said.
"We're saying we need leadership to say to the public that you have to be accountable for your waste," Ms. Bracken said. "When all those things start to happen and we start to be more accountable for our waste at the personal and industrial level, we will see a reduction."
The incinerator proposed by the regions of Durham and York, with a preferred site in Courtice, works against the idea of Zero Waste, since the technology requires constant, minimum amounts of waste, Ms. Bracken said.
Moving toward Zero Waste is "win-win-win on every level -- individual, industry and government," she said.
Next week's information session will also serve to remind people the process aimed at building an incinerator in Courtice is ongoing, she said. There hasn't been a public information session so far this year and, as a result, the incinerator is "off a lot of people's radar," Ms. Bracken said.
"It's not a done deal and (people) can still express their opinion."
For more information on the citizens' group and information session, visit
www.zerowaste4zeroburning.ca.
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