NEED WINTER TIRES? WE’VE GOT YOUR TIRES!
35 Howard Avenue, ELMIRA, ON
519-669-3232 AT PARTICIPATING STORES
12 | 13 | 2014 VOLUME 19 | ISSUE 50
Big dinner a holiday tradition Living Here PAGE 42
COMMENT PAGE 16
Ontarians not getting good value for money
www.OBSERVERXTRA.com
Waste woes go beyond the transfer stations
Townships just one voice in the discussion as the region looks at ways to reduce costs, extend life of landfill site Scott Barber In their continued bid to slash waste management costs, Waterloo Region officials launched a public survey earlier this month. In it, the public is asked to share opinions on three potential policy measures aimed at decreasing “the amount of garbage ending up in our landfill.” The measures are: 1. Standardizing the collection of waste across all seven municipalities of Waterloo Region (i.e. bringing bag limits common in the townships to city residents); 2. Bag limits and/or every other week garbage collection, with unlimited weekly blue box and green bin collection; 3. User-pay options such
as bag tags to allow residents the flexibility to have more waste collected at the curb, if needed. The Erb Street landfill site will be full in 15 to 20 years, Waterloo Region project manager Cari Rastas Howard explained, and steps need to be taken to prolong its life. “We have been working on a waste management master plan,” Rastas Howard explained. “We began the project in 2012 and the final waste management master plan went to (regional) council at the end of November last year. And through the master plan process we looked at getting direction on the future of all of our waste management programs, so what Waste | 14
St. Nick waved and bellowed “Ho, Ho Ho!” as the jolly man-in-red made his way down Arthur Street in his sleigh during the Elmira Santa Claus Parade on Dec. 6.
[Scott Barber / The Observer]