In response to your question about grocery store bags:

The City has encouraged stores to move to the blue and green bags, but other than persuasion, we do not have any authority to require them to use them. The City and the mayor were thrilled when No Frills showed leadership on this issue.

I am sure that customers would have an influence; you may want to consider making a request to store management.

I hope this helps.

Thanks,

Kate Sullivan
Mayor’s Office

Does the city have any pull with Zehrs and the other grocery stores?
No Frills has green and blue bags for their groceries. Would it be possible to ask the other stors to follow along?

I was informed by a city worker that the separated bags were in fact not being recycled and that all garbage was being sent to Detroit (or where ever non separated garbage is sent.)

I was also told that when the Wet dry plant closed down that so did the recycling – however they did not want people to forget how to do it in case it ever returned.

I would like to see a reduction at stores for the cost of the coloured bags – they are very expensive!

It seems ridiculous that I have to purchase these just to throw them out!

The city should offer these to residents for free — as we certainly pay enough money in taxes.

In response to your questions…

Guelph’s yard waste is composted by a company called Gro-bark.

Re the new organics facility, it’s still a little too early to say whether compost will be sold back to residents, as the technology hasn’t been chosen yet. Thanks for your comment.

Kate Sullivan, Mayor’s Office

I would love to see a system which takes the yard waste from Guelph, turns it in to compost and is then sold back to Guelph gardeners to put back on their soil.

As well as being the perfect closed loop system, it would generate income.

Currently we are taking away from the soil, and not putting anything back – or if we are it’s from somewhere else.

Is there a plan to sell the compost created by the new organic facility back to residents of Guelph. Again, a perfect opportunity to keep things local, benefit gardeners and generate income.

I checked with staff regarding your questions:

When the different coloured bags are collected together, recyclables are intended to be sorted out at the Waste Resource Innovation Centre.

You are correct that glass is not currently being recycled. As part of the 2008 budget process, Council approved funding to invest in a system to address current issues, and allow us to start recycling glass again in the near future.

Hope this helps.

- Kate Sullivan, Mayor’s Office

Hopefully someone will enforce this regulation.

In response to your question about waste pick-up at apartments:

Apartment buildings are covered under the Ministry of the Environment (Ontario Regulation 103/04) which requires that all apartment buildings with 6 or more units provide recycling services.

The City does not provide waste collection for apartment buildings; individual building managers are responsible for these programs and they usually hire private waste collection firms. If your building has 6 or more units, you may want to enquire why a recycling program has not been provided as mandated by the MOE.

Despite this, the City is currently looking at what programs we can offer to multi-residential units through the update to our Waste Management Master Plan.

Hope this helps.

-Kate Sullivan, Mayor’s Office.