The Canadian National Newspaper: Toronto Votes 2006, Rod Muir

If elected, I pledge to significantly increase waster diversion

1. Immediately appoint a Director of Waste Diversion within the Solid Waste Management Department. This step, I believe, will assist greatly in directing our focus towards diversion rather than disposal.

2. Immediately organize Greater Toronto Area Waste Diversion Authority, bringing together Niagara, Halton, Peel, York, Durham Regions and the city of Hamilton for the purposes of collaboration on this mutual issue. There is no indication from the current administration that this is occurring.

3. Immediately re-institute weekly collection of recycling and distribute an additional $4 blue/gray box as required. This reduction in service has been a major step backwards in our diversion efforts. The current administration seems poised to instead spend $20 - 30 million on a large cart.

4. Institute television and radio advertising to increase the benefits of recycling. There has been no progress from the current administration on this oft-repeated critical component - Public Education.

5. In addition to advertising the many benefits of waste diversion, promote this activity via the awarding of cars, trips and cash (free taxes actually) to participating households. My own recommendation, completely ignored by the current administration.

6. Introduce foodscrap "green bin" type collection in apartments. Little progress from the current administration in this area despite Taskforce 2010 goal of introduction by 2003!

7. Require 3 chutes in all new apartment buildings for recyclables, foodscraps and "residual" waste. No progress from current administration; meanwhile numerous new buildings have been constructed in the past 3 years.

8. Immediately issue a Request for Proposal for the pick-up and/or processing of the 200,000(!) mattresses and other stuffed furniture we now drive to Michigan each year. In line with above step (4th stream of collection) no reason to collect mattresses if there's no way to take them.

9. Institute a 4th stream of collection (in addition to recycling, organics (leaf & yard and food scraps) and residual) with quarterly collection of furniture and mattresses as recommended in the 2010 report. No progress from the current administration.

10. Open Re-use Centers throughout the city, again a 2010 recommendation. No progress from current administration.

11. Provide the Citizens of Toronto with the opportunity to directly lobby the federal government for packaging legislation, another 2010 recommendation. "Improper Packaging Campaign" - Ontario Chapter of Sierra Club of Canada. Nothing from the current administration in this regard.

12. Establish a Waste Diversion Working Group as recommended in 2010 Report. Completely dropped by the current administration.

13. Ban the use of Polystyrene (PS) (#6) egg cartons and meat trays within the city. My own recommendation, ignored by the current administration.

14. Ban the use of Polystyrene (PS) (#6) plastic for food service in city owned buildings. (Berkeley CA and Baltimore MA have recently passed resolutions limiting PS (#6) use.) My own recommendation, ignored by the current administration.

15. Require all convenience stores to maintain a 3 stream (recycling, foodscraps, residual) container on or near their premises. My own recommendation, ignored by the current administration.

16. Develop 'Take it Back' programs for meds and other household hazardous waste. Task force 2010 initiative dropped by the current administration.

17. Require those holding festivals etc. on city streets, in parks etc. to provide 3-stream diversion; recycling, foodscraps and residual. I've been thinking about this for many years now. Driven home after visiting the Roncesvalles/Polish Festival, where I saw one garbage can for everything!

18. Introduce 'Pay as You Throw' fee based residual waste disposal. This would be a flat fee regardless of income as it is for the consumption of water, hydro, natural gas, cable T.V., etc. 7,500 communities in N. America have similar systems, 125 in Ontario alone. Proposal defeated by the current administration.

19. Introduce translucent bags to ease enforcement of recycling by-law and food scrap diversion. Proposal defeated by the current administration.

20. Act on recommendations of the New and Emerging Technologies Citizens Advisory Group (15 hand-picked individuals who met on over 50 occasions over nearly 2 years). More or less ignored by the current administration.

21. End fixation on Halifax Model for Mixed Waste Treatment. This is about separation at Source, not after the fact.

TO COMBAT CLIMATE CHANGE
Yes, we must get people out of their cars to:
-- Walk
-- Bike
-- Transit
-- Car Pool
-- Etc.

And yes we must encourage the practice of energy efficiency at home and at work by:
-- Increasing insulation
-- Improving heating/cooling efficiency
-- Purchasing and installing timers
-- Lowering lighting energy use

But simple responsible waste diversion is a too often overlooked but significant contributor to Climate Change mitigation. A tremendous amount of energy is used, and greenhouse gases produced, just to make the items we consume.

And then just throw away.....

For this benefit, the mitigation of climate change, we must further encourage those already diverting to easily do more, and to motivate those few who are not participating.

Waste diversion is an all too often problem, common to all Municipalities - and it has common solutions.

As I have done for the past 5 years I will work together with the other Candidates for Office, Municipalities, Provinces and the Federal Government to:

-- Enact proper packaging legislation
-- Increase the diversion rate of recyclables
-- Develop foodscrap collection programs
-- Institute construction/demolition debris collection
-- Implement electronic waste collection
-- Start furniture and mattress collection

True "residual" waste is, I believe, 10% or less of all "waste" generated. The City's own waste audits reveal this. The fact is, everybody's waste audits reveal this.

Ontario's landfill crisis is a myth fostered by those with a vested interest in the status quo and accepted as gospel by politicians lacking knowledge, vision and courage. More than adequate landfill capacity exists in the Province for the time it takes to increase our diversion. We are simply wasting valuable space burying recyclables, organic material and other items all the while needlessly accelerating climate change.