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Home My WebLink AboutThe Citizen, 1990-03-21, Page 40Bottle Boom Recycling at Walton Landfill Site has not been without its problems and now faced with a growing amount of recyclable glass and no broker for it the recycling committee feels that more bottles should be made returnable than recyclable. From left: Grey Township Clerk Brad Knight, Councillor Robin Dunbar, Site Attendant Peter Workman and McKillopReeveMarieHicknellstandbesideabin full of bottles that they feel should be made refundable so that the volume of recyclable glass that exists could be reduced. Walton won’t stop recycling Local media and councils vie for Maple Madness award Despite recycling problems that are being encountered province wide, the Walton Landfill Commit tee has decided to continue, at least for the time being, its recycling program which was initiated in September of 1988. The committee feels that there has been so much time and effort put into recycling by the Councils, landfill staff, volunteer groups and the public that it doesn’t want to see the . program stopped because of de pressed markets. Clerk-Treasurer of Grey Town ship, Brad Knight, says that when the program was initiated, $25 a ton was received for all newsprint, glass and metal cans that were recyclable. Now, however $25 is being received only for cans. The newsprint is being given away and because of people unintentionally contaminating recyclable glass with non-recyclable the Committee is unable to find a broker to take the glass, which is presently being colour sorted and stored at the site. According to Mr. Knight, glass recycling is probably the most frustrating aspect for the commit tee. Consumers Glass in Toronto is the only purchaser of recycled glass. Any ceramics found in a loaf of glass will result in the rejection of the entire load as this type of glass doesn’t melt down with the rest and creates problems with respect to damaging machinery and weakened containers. Because of this, brokers tend to be leery of shipping 40-ton loads because of the high rejection rates and associ ated costs, says Mr. Knight. He suggests that the answer for now will be careful inspection of all glass being brought in to the bin, which can prove difficult as some people are over-zealous in their recycling efforts and throw in the wrong types of glass. Landfill attendant Peter Workman says if glass is crushed or broken, it can cause another problem as he can’t tell what type of glass it is. “It is really frustrating to someone if they bring in the things they have recycled and I have to tell them I can’t take it because it’s broken,’’ says Mr. Workman. “But, we can’t take any chances’’. Mr. Knight said that all signs indicate the market for newsprint will pick up but presently there is too much material for the number of markets that produce it. New plants are however, being built and the current glut of newsprint is thought to be temporary. “It should be noted that enve lopes, fine paper, magazines and glossy flyers are not to be recycled with newsprint,’’ added Mr. Knight. He also says that the lack of storage at the Landfill Site during the Christmas season resulted in several complaints from indivi duals. “The recycling bins were full and the paper mills were closed for the holidays. This created a backlog and the recycling broker was unable to move the bin. The attendants were just not able to keep up and quite simply they ran out of room. The committee unfor tunately recognizes that they were in a poor situation to handle the incredible volume of material that came in over Christmas,’’ Mr. Knight said. He asks the residents of Grey and McKillop Townships to have patience and urges them to contin ue their recycling efforts, but to- only bring in material that is easily recognized and sorted and is recyclable. The committee has asked the province to change its theory behind glass recycling. It is disap pointed that the Ministry of the Service honoured At the recent Good Roads Association Convention in Toronto Harry Gillis, RR 3, Brussels was honoured on his retirement after 40 years service to the road industry inGrey township. Mr. Gillis (centre) receivedacertificateforhisservice. With him for the presentation were his nominator Leona Armstrong, Reeve of Grey and Roy Williamson, Grey township Road Superintendent. If you have any questions, please ask the attendant on duty or contact your municipal office. Environment is investigating a relaxation of the refillable contain er legislation on the soft drink industry. Current requirements are for 30 per cent refillable, 70 per cent recyclable. Letters, suggest ing that common containers such as the 500 ml. soft drink bottles be returnable for refund rather than recyclable and that the same concept should be applied to soft drink containers, were sent to Jim Bradley Minister of the Environ ment and MPP Jack Riddell. The response was not as favourable as they had hoped. Mr. Bradley wrote that more waste is diverted from landfills by recycling than by returnable bottles. “A number of other provinces and states have much more stin gent regulations concerning return able containers,” said Mr. Knight, “and if the major concern is with waste reduction, one has to look no further than the Brewer’s Retail system, which boasts a 98 per cent return of its bottles and cans which involve deposits. The committee also feels that the LCBO should be a source of major embarrassment to the province with its non-refund- able containers.” Members of area councils and the local media have once again been invited to compete for the famous ‘Maple Madness Award’ at the Maple Keys Sugar Bush. The Maitland Valley Conserva tion Authority will be hosting the Media-Council competition as part of Pancake Weekend Festivities on Sunday, March 25. The competi tion will begin at 1 p.m. and involves four events; log sawing, ' pancake flipping, nail driving, and a pancake feast. All councils and media are encouraged to put together a team and join in the fun. Each team should consist of four people including a minimum of two council or two media members. The defending Maple Madness champions are Hullett Township. The top media team in 1989 was CKNX. The competition is ex pected to be fierce again this year as teams vie for the coveted Maple Madness Award as well as the trophy for top council team donated by Minto Township. For the public, Pancake Week end will feature guided tours of the sugar bush, historical displays, maple taffy and pancake meals. Maple products will also be avail able for sale. Pancake Weekend is scheduled for March 24 and 25. Maple Keys Sugar Bush is located 10 km. west of Listowel, 2 concessions south of Hwy. 86 on Grey Township sideroad 30-31. Admission to Maple Keys is free. Members of the media or coun cils are asked to pre-register their team by calling the Maitland Valley Conservation Authority at 335- 3557. NOTICE WALTON LANDFILL SITE RECYCLING PROGRAM A compartment bin for recyclable materials is stationed at the Walton Landfill Site. Recyclable materials will be accepted as follows: 1 ] NEWSPAPER: Newsprint and flyers that are made out of newsprint. Please bundle or place in boxes or bags. No magazines, catalogues, telephone books, glossy flyers, envelopes, fine paper, etc. 2] GLASS: Household bottlesand jars, preferably without the lids and preferably colour sorted into clear glass and coloured glass. Must be rinsed or washed and the labels maybelefton. No window panes, light bulbs, china, ceramics, etc. Glass must also be in a recognizable form, i.e. not crushed. 3] METAL CANS: Food cans must be rinsed out, pop cans are acceptable as is. Please flatten as much as possible. 4] PLASTIC SOFT- Remove the lids and flatten if possible. DRINK CONTAINERS: BE AG00DS0RT-C0NTINUET0 RECYCLE TOWNSHIPS OF GREY AND MCKILLOP WE HEARD IT THRU THE GRAPEVINE... Great Savings on These Used Cars & Trucks. 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