Integrated Waste Management Plan Approved For Council Consideration

Trenton, ON – Donald Scharfe, P.Eng of Quinte Waste Solutions has completed the Integrated Waste Management Plan on behalf of the nine member municipalities that make up the Centre & South Hastings Waste Services Board.

The Plan was accepted at the Centre & South Hastings Waste Services Board meeting on Monday June 28th, and will be delivered to the 9 member municipal councils by the end of July.

The Integrated Waste Management Plan is a holistic approach to managing the waste management requirements in the area. The plan outlines a course of action considering the social, economic and environmental factors to dealing with various waste categories including organics, recycling, hazardous waste, and energy from waste. “ I believe by working together, this region has developed a plan that will be good for the environment, people will like and won’t break the bank ”, explains Scharfe.

Moving forward, similar to a menu, each member municipality will decide on what aspects of the plan fit within their municipal planning. Each municipality has their own requirements, which makes this plan unique in that they may opt in on some of the plan, and may decide to hold off on other parts until they have a requirement.

Quinte Waste Solutions has been diverting waste from landfill since 1990 and is ranked #2 among Ontario municipalities of the same size and type. The most recent curbside waste audits in 2006/2007 show that Centre & South Hastings including Prince Edward County residents are capturing 82% of the available blue box materials in the area.

The Centre & South Hastings and P.E.C. total diversion rate as identified in the 2008 Waste Diversion Ontario Data Call for all Ontario municipalities considering all waste categories mentioned above is currently 43.09%.

With many Ontario municipalities adopting curbside organics programs, a key recommendation of this Integrated Waste Management Plan is to consider the adoption of a local program to divert organic waste from landfill.

Currently, 40% of the waste going to landfill in the area is organics, and could be composted, thus extending the life of local landfills by close to half.

The Integrated Waste Management Plan is on the Quinte Waste Solutions website http://www.quinterecycling.org/  for the public to view.

Massive Turnout for E-Waste Recycling Day

Trenton - Poor weather wasn't enough to deter the efforts of 800 + Quinte residents and businesses as they took advantage of an opportunity to have their e-waste recycled for free. Quinte Waste Solutions (QWS), an approved collector under the Ontario Electronic Stewardship Program, partnered with the Belleville Green Task Force to bring this waste electronics recycling event to businesses and residents in the area this past Saturday May 8th at the Yardmen Arena.

Jennifer Salutari, Waste Electronics Program Supervisor for QWS was delighted at the quantity of e-waste received. "I was amazed to see so much collected Saturday, the more electronics we gather today will mean less in the landfill tomorrow" she explains. A total of five 53' tractor trailers were filled at the event. Gleaners Food Bank also received support from the community through donations of non-perishables as well as monetary donations.

The high participation at last Saturday's event suggests that another collection day may be necessary. Salutari figures it will be planned sometime in late summer, and reminds residents that they may drop off waste electronics at the Belleville Depot [75 Wallbridge Crescent], along with their Hazardous Waste on Tuesday's between 4pm and 7pm and Thursday's 8am until 2pm. Televisions are not accepted at the Depot because of the amount of space they take up and therefore require special events like the one held this past Saturday.

For more information on waste electronic recycling days, please visit http://www.quinterecycling.org/

GTA recycling woes haven't migrated to Quinte area

Regional – While media reports indicate Toronto and some surrounding municipalities are struggling to find markets for recycled materials, Quinte Waste Solutions (QWS) is not experiencing the same problems.


A Toronto Star article this week cited the recent closures of several major recyclers as an issue facing Greater Toronto Area (GTA) municipalities.

Manager Rick Clow said Quinte Waste Solutions has been affected by the closure of the Canadian Polystyrene Recycling Association in Mississauga, as it was the only Canadian recycler of polystyrene.

However those materials represent a relatively small portion of the items collected locally, Clow said.
 
"Currently we're stockpiling, but it's not a large amount," Clow said.
QWS is looking for a solution along with the Canadian Plastics Industry Association.
Clow said Unical Glass, which closed a new Brampton facility, dealt primarily with mixed broken glass from recycling systems in the GTA. QWS currently separates coloured glass from clear and sends it to a company called NexCycle in Guelph. QWS has also done business in the past with both Atlantic Packaging, which closed a Whitby facility, and Abitibi-Bowater, which has also made cuts to its operations.

"For some time now we've been sending our material to other mills," Clow said. He pointed out that there are three paper processing facilities in the local area – Strathcona Paper in Napanee, and Norampac and Sonoco in Trenton.  "We should all be supportive of our local processors," Clow said.
He said if a situation arose where a plan to offer aid to Atlantic was proposed, it should also be offered to all Ontario processors. Clow said he has no immediate concerns about the recycling industry or the ability to find a market for recovered material. He said the problems with CPRA and Unical were, to the best of his knowledge, not related to the market, although Atlantic has cited high costs as the cause of its closure. "All our material is finding a home," Clow said. "We're certainly happy for that."

On average QWS collects 215 kg of recyclable material per household annually. Clow said the weight of material collected is staying about the same, which he attributes to both the current economy and the fact that manufacturers are looking to reduce the overall weight of their products.
This means that while more material might be collected the weight might not increase accordingly.
QWS is responsible for waste reduction in Belleville, Quinte West, Tyendinaga, Prince Edward County, Centre Hastings, Stirling-Rawdon,Tweed, Madoc Township and Marmora & Lake.

It is administered by the Centre & South Hastings Waste Services Board, made up of members from each of the municipalities. Along with blue box programs, Quinte Waste Solutions operates programs to handle hazardous waste and to divert organic materials, including food scraps, leaves and brush from landfill.

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More Opportunities to Divert Waste Electronics in Quinte!

Trenton, ON – Beginning April 1st, 2010, Ontario Electronic Stewardship’s waste electronics recycling program will be expanding its list of acceptable items. For residents served by Quinte Waste Solutions, not much will change; this is because they have already been accepting these items for over five years.
Quinte Waste Solutions however, will receive much needed financial relief to assist in covering the costs of diverting these materials. "Up until now, we have been absorbing the cost to divert phase 2 materials, the additional materials approved by OES", explains Jennifer Salutari of Quinte Waste Solutions. "We will now receive a financial incentive to partially offset the operating costs of the program. This will also allow us to expand our special events this year, providing residents with more opportunities to divert their e-waste."
In 2008, Quinte Waste Solutions diverted 80.51 Metric Tonnes (MT) of e-waste from landfill. In 2009, that number increased by over 100% to 162.16 MT. That is the equivalent of 36 x 53’ tractor trailers in two years. "Quinte Waste Solutions’ goal for 2010 is to double the 2009 tonnage" says Jennifer Salutari. "We will achieve this by increasing the number of waste electronic drop off events throughout the Quinte Waste Solutions service area, in addition to our continued efforts of partnering with municipalities to provide local drop off opportunities for the residents of their areas."
Quinte Waste Solutions’ next TV and Waste Electronics Drop-off event will be at the Tyendinaga Township Works Yard on Saturday April 24th between 10 a.m. and 3 p.m. This one day event is free to residents and businesses; however a non-perishable food donation will be welcomed for the local Helping Hands Food Bank.
Visit www.ontarioelectronicstewardship.ca for more information on the changes to their program, and check in at www.quinterecycling.org for upcoming opportunities near you.

Quinte residents divert waste electronics from local landfills

Trenton ON – The mild weather was welcomed Saturday as Leon’s Superstore Trenton and Quinte Waste Solutions (QWS) partnered up once again to divert unwanted televisions and waste electronics from local landfills.
"We saw everything from old model PCs and rotary phones to brand new, unfortunately broken 52 inch Plasma televisions", explains Jennifer Salutari, Waste Electronics Program Supervisor for Quinte Waste Solutions.

The volume of space unwanted electronics and televisions take up in a landfill site is quite staggering, not to mention the harmful toxic materials such as lead and mercury that could potentially leach into our ground water. By diverting waste electronics, we increase the lifespan of these sites, and give these unwanted items another chance at life to be used in new products. The event held on Saturday diverted the equivalent of four 53’ tractor trailers of waste electronics from landfill.

A recent report by the United National Environment Program (UNEP), identified the need for developing countries to put in place, responsible Electronic Waste Collection programs to meet the rapidly growing amount of waste electronics in these countries. With electronic waste increasing by a suggested 40 million tonnes annually worldwide, action must be taken now.

Operating under Ontario Electronic Stewardship’s (OES) Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment Program, Quinte Waste Solutions is considered an "approved collector" of waste electronics. This program identifies roles and responsibilities for approved consolidation points, collectors, processors and transporters of waste electronics. It is a voluntary program, with strict guidelines and approval processes to ensure that materials collected are tracked and dealt with responsibly, from collection to end market.

Quinte Waste Solutions’ Hazardous Waste Depot operates year round at 75 Wallbridge Crescent in Belleville. Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment can be dropped off at this location, however televisions can only be collected at special drop-off events like the one held at the Leon’s Superstore in Trenton this past Saturday.

Recognized for Environmental Excellence!

Trenton, ON – The 2009 Robert Argue Scholarship was awarded to Lela Hicks, a graduate of St. Theresa Secondary Catholic School during the Centre & South Hastings Waste Services Board meeting on December 21, 2009.

The Robert Argue Scholarship Award was founded in honour of Bob Argue, the chief architect behind the creation of the recycling and waste reduction program that currently serves the Centre & South Hastings area, including Prince Edward County. The primary aim of the scholarship is to encourage environmental activism and innovation, and to make possible the participation in an environmental endeavor for one deserving recipient.

An amount of $800.00 was awarded to Ms. Hicks, recognizing her commitment to the environment through her efforts at school as well as her volunteerism in the community. Lela was a devoted member of St. Theresa’s Green Team, and a driving force behind St. Theresa’s endeavor to become an Eco-School.

Lela volunteered her time with organizations such as Habitat for Humanity as well as Fixed ‘Fur’ Life, an organization that spays and neuters homeless or abandoned animals. Lela, just like Robert Argue, pioneered the creation of St. Theresa’s book club R.I.C.K. ((Reading Is Cool Kids), and through book drives, Lela and her club members donated over 500 books to local charities; Big Brothers and Big Sisters as well as the Salvation Army.

Lela is attending the University of Guelph, and says the reason she chose Guelph is because of their reputation for being an environmentally friendly school.
Applications and deadlines for the Robert Argue Scholarship Award are provided to the local Boards of Education each spring. For more information on applying for the Scholarship, or for those interested in making a charitable donation to the Scholarship fund, please visit www.quinterecycling.org.

For more information please contact:
Jeff Lauritsen
Communications Coordinator
Quinte Waste Solutions
613 394 6266

Highschool Fashionistas!

Trenton, ON – Art students from St. Paul’s Catholic Secondary School in Trenton demonstrated that one person’s trash is another person’s treasure with their 10th annual Haute Couture fashion show on the 12th of November.

The theme for this year’s show was "Anything Recyclable". Students from St. Paul’s graduating grade 12 Art class could use any recyclable materials at their disposal. Some outfits were made using film plastic grocery or newspaper bags, boxboard packaging from various brands of soft drinks and just about anything else you would find in your blue box.

Katrien Reed, the Visual Arts Coordinator at St. Paul’s, said "This year’s turnout was a huge success, and drew more than 150 people". The price to attend was $5.00 with all proceeds going to the St. Paul’s Catholic School Art Department. Funds will be used to help finance an opportunity for students to work with well known artist and Professor of the Fine Arts Program at Queen’s University, Otis Tamasauskas.

"The fashion show, which is really a show of wearable art, is always met with great enthusiasm and support. Prizes are given for Most Wearable, Most Haute Couture and Most Unique", explains Katrien. "Students had to do research and ensure that their materials were completely recyclable. We had dresses made from plastic bags, colourful cardboard boxes, pop tabs, bread tabs... You name it!" ,adds Katrien.

Prizes were awarded to Jordan Reilly for Most Wearable, Emily Gebhardt for Most Haute Couture and Holly Young for Most Unique.
Congratulations to all those involved in this awareness raising project. Can’t wait to see what next year’s event has in store!