Times Advocate, 1992-06-24, Page 3Buses SIC1211E. munited' TO waste reduction
• as
uit to keep gillbage Oillt of the ilunip
by Adrian Harte
T -A Editor -
EXETER - A comr+iuee that has been aiming at making the town of Ex-
eter more environmentally conscious is now beginning to BCC SN UG its ide-
asiake fruit. --------------
The
--------------- The town's ilkanttellsalistgernent Committee ttt'tmedNdng'initlerch
1991 mainly as a group to help supervise and monitor the town's fledgling
Blue Box recycling programa. But -tate group knew then that it would try to
investigate new ways to reduce the town's impact on the local envimn-
meru.
'lite committee, which -consists of Tom'Seip, Denise Ha'penny, George
McEwen, Joe Rider, Bruce Shaw, and students Paula Hohner, Heather
one which is•Ns ingstilupe this summer is a plan' to audit and leduee the
amount of garbage generated by the town's industry, commerce, and insti-
tutions (ICI sector).
A full 60 percent of the town's solid waste that enters the landfill site is
estimated to bo from the ICI sector, and most of that is cardboard and.
paperproducts. The trick is to bring the success of the Blue Box to those
businesses to seduce that waste.
Two summer students, Doug Kens and Sandra Marks will be doing
waste "audits" of local about 70 percent of the town's large businesses.
"There's definitely a lot of businesses out there doing their share," said
McEwen, but added there are many materials that can be saved from the
dump with a little thought and care.
It is expected that some kind of collection program can be created to
send cardboard and paper to the Bluewater Recycling Association, but
care will have to be takerr to make sure there is little or no cost to the busi-
nesses, and the collection will not create its own environmental problems.
That rules out a depot system.
"People have to sec it as a cost saving, energy saving venture," said
McEwen.
Seip has already been collecting cardboard from businesses for recycling
for over a year: he -says there is still solnt3 misunderstanding out:there
about what can be recycled. Many still doril*4now cardboard doesn't have
to go to the landfill.
Ha'penny said the project docs not plan to be dictatorial. She sees busi-
nesses, industries, and institutions working together as. one team to solve
the waste problem.
A realistic goal might be a 30 percent reduction in ICI sector garbage,
according to Bluewater.Recychng statistics.
The ICI audits may also be able to identify waste products that are actu-
ally of use to another town business as a raw material.
Kid's said he hopes to convince the businesses that the conservation ef-
forts tout also be "bottom-line successful" with economic benefits to a re-
duction in waste.
Also in the works is a plan to increase the town's fees for the ICI -tipping
garbage at the landfill, site. If the garbage is potentially recyclable, then
the cost will be ten times the normal.
"We don't want to punish anybody," laid Ha'penny, but added '"here's
tsn incentive there to do the right thing."
Seip said the higher tipping fees, already being charged at the Holmes -
landfill site, are onl neap a'meras of tdflectinthe true cast of
waste disposal, without the subsidies from taxation.
"You assume everyone knows what's tight," said mayor Bruce Shaw.
'But the bottom line is if 'moral -suasion' doesn't work, then we'll have to
pass bylaws," he said.
A -large incentive to keep landfill waste at a minimum -is -the future possi-
bility of a county -wide landfill. Once Exeter's own site is full, then the
cost of shipping garbage to a northern township will begin to have a very
obvious effect on the town's waste Costs.
"We'll be the losers in the king run" said Shaw. "Our aim is to keep our
own facilities operational for as long as possible."
The waste management committee is also looking at other envirottmen
Ael issues and other ways to help town resifents change their habits to 0
shore "green" tifestyk. -
McEwen said he wants to see shirr jk1irwists
stopped in variety stere parkinersts. 1t hurts the car, wastes fuel, and
creates pollution. The committee is considering signs urging people to
switch their cars off.
Composting has also come to the committee's attention. Concerned that
not enough people have them, or fully use them, a large-scale project such
as Hensall's system which is under constniction has them interested.
Hazardous wastes also end up in the strangest places. McEwen said he
has been told by several people they flush dangerous liquids down the toi-
let instead of having them collected for proper disposal.
'"'here has to be some nnderstanding as to where it goes. The toilet
doesn't go to some abyss on another planet, said McEwen. "If you flute it,
it comes back.'
But the committee is also mindful that putting forth a position that
seems extremist may also turn some people away. Shaw calls it the
"George Bush syndrome", saying that some equate environmentalism with
a loss of lifestyle and economic growth.
Nevertheless, Halpenny says that tempering the environmental message
has its negative aspects. Everyone has beet told tat contributing in just a
small way will save Bre world. As a result, Ha'penny says some who arc
using their Blue Boxes think their pan is played.
"Everybody's got to do a tremendous turnaround to solve this problem,
but we're afraid of scaring them off, so everybody's been told they`ve got
to do one little thing," said Ha'penny.
"We're conditioned to be a disposable society," said Ha'penny, who
rates that the hospital lab in which she worics used to employ people just
to wash glass beakers and containers - containers which are now. throwa-'
way plastic.
"We've spent decades learning how to be more convenient and more dis-
posable," she said, but noted Indus try is listening and making changes.
Products arc appearing to appeal to a more environmentally -conscious
consumer.
Seip said there is a cost to our disposable, convenient lifestyle, hut "the
bill hasn't cane in the mail yet". -
Doug Kells and Sandra Marks will be visiting Exeter business-
es in the next few weeks to determine haiv the ICI sector can
reduce the amount of waste it sends to the town landfill.
24 x355 mi. tins
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