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dentistoakville.com den 905-842-6030 90 MECHANICAL SERVICES AU AU UTO TOPR TO PRO PR O OA OAKV OAKV K IL LLE E 2 2 Wyecrof 221 ft Road, Oakv kvill ille e SNA NEWSPAPER OF THE YEAR 2010 ONTARIO'S TOP NEWSPAPER - 2005-2008 The Thing Artscene FRIDAY, OCTOBER 21, 2011 905-469-2442 2 autoprooakville.mechanicnet.com A member of Metroland Media Group Ltd. Vol. 49 No. 126 "USING COMMUNICATION TO BUILD BETTER COMMUNITIES" 48 Pages $1.00 (plus tax) Ontario must boost its recycling record By Don Campbell & Thana Dharmrajah METROLAND MEDIA GROUP (First in a three-part series) Bob Beacock ignores the overpowering stench. He walks into a pile of sticky, torn garbage bags dumped on top of one of Ontario's heaping landfill sites. Dozens of seagulls snap up morsels of trash as Beacock unearths an umbrella, electrical wires, a plastic canola oil container and a 20-litre plastic pail. He scoops up a battery with his shovel. "There's a real no-no," says the Brock Township landfill operator. "I don't know how many times we tell the public. There's one recycle more waste, or accept new landfills or incinerators in our communities." Government established ambitious wastediversion targets during the last decade, but today, more than half of the five million tonnes of waste picked up at Ontario curbsides annually gets dumped instead of recycled or reused. That 2.7-million tonnes of waste that could thing I hate seeing in a landfill, is any battery." These items could have been diverted through one of Ontario's province-wide waste diversion programs, but they ended up here. Programs like the blue box may have lulled Ontarians into believing they're doing all they can to help the environment and reduce waste. But Trash Troubles -- a Metroland Special Report -- shows we aren't being as diligent as we think. Province-wide, 55 per cent of garbage that could be recycled ends up in landfills instead. As a result, landfills are filling up fast and we are on the brink of a waste disposal crisis, the Association of Municipalities of Ontario says. "Our garbage continues to outstrip available landfill space," said AMO president Gary McNamara. "We must either reduce our waste and have been diverted is equivalent to the weight of 6,222 Boeing 747 jets. For example, three-quarters of plastics that should be recycled end up in landfills. And even though organics make up about one-third of the province's waste, only 40 per cent of Ontarians have access to a curbside green bin program. More than $320 million was spent on waste diversion in Ontario last year, through programs funded by industry, municipalities and the province. Consumers also pay through eco fees on certain products. Tim Krochak -- Metroland Media Group The results of these programs are poor. Not a single community surveyed for Trash THE TROUBLE WITH TRASH: Despite many municipalities' best efforts, more than half of Ontario's recyclable waste is still ending up in landfills according to the Metroland Special Report Troubles, has hit its waste-diversion goal. Ontario towns and cities have made barely Trash Troubles. With many landfills filling up fast, the province may be on the verge of a waste disSee Recyclable page 9 posal crisis.