NEWS ARCHIVES
October 11, 2007
Waste Management to Honour Commitment
with City
Last week Councillor Marianne Wilkinson and I put forward
a motion requesting that Waste Management (WM) honour its 2001 agreement with
the City.
During our Council meeting on Oct. 10, a report came
forward regarding the need for more equipment and staff at the Trail Road
landfill. The reason for these new requirements is that WM is no longer
accepting residential waste at the Carp Road landfill meaning there is now extra
pressure being put on the Trail Road facility.
This report regarding the Trail Road landfill has been
deferred to the 2008 budget discussions with the exception of the purchase of a
garbage compactor, which will be made in order to accommodate the current needs
of our City.
Staff has been directed to meet the 30 per cent quota of
the City’s residential waste stream at the Carp Road landfill in order to
maintain the City’s 90 per cent preservation of the landfill capacity. City
staff will be coming forward with a full report on this issue. Please be assured
I will keep all of you informed as this process continues.
Working Together for Improvements
On Oct. 11 Mayor Larry O’Brien, west end Councillors,
Planning and Environment Committee Chair Councillor Peter Hume and City staff
met with WM to discuss our steps as we move forward to achieve a 60 per cent
diversion rate.
Councillors Peggy Feltmate and Peter Hume arranged this
meeting to discuss the odour issues at the Carp Road landfill and also to focus
in on waste diversion activities in our City. My commitment to the community
stands to find better alternatives to landfill and I look forward to working
with my colleagues to map out a long-term plan for managing waste in the City of
Ottawa. Bringing all interested parties to the table is a good first step and it
is my hope that all residents will benefit from the results of our commitment to
work together.
A number of items were discussed at this meeting and all
will assist in diverting more waste out of the landfills which is a positive
step for our community.
On Oct. 20 from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. a Residential
Electronics Waste Depot will be taking place at the Carp Road landfill. This is
an opportunity for our community to safely dispose of any electronic products
collecting dust in your home including computers, keyboards, computer parts,
printers, televisions, telephones, palm pilots and a variety of other items. I
encourage you to take advantage of this depot and help prevent electronic waste
from ending up in our City’s landfills. Another depot will be taking place on
Oct. 28 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. in the parking lot of 655 Shefford Road.
Also, I am working with Nicole Colbeck of the Everybody
Wins recycling program, to help collect any old computer equipment at my ward
office, located at 1532 Stittsville Main Street. You are encouraged to drop off
any of your unwanted computer products at this convenient location any time
during our office hours of Monday 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Wednesdays and Fridays
from 1 p.m. to 8 p.m.
Another option you have to increase recycling in our
community is the City’s Take it Back Program. This is in place to ensure that
several household items are reused and recycled. There are over 500 Ottawa
retailers who participate and take back a number of items that are not picked up
at the curb including reusable household goods, gardening supplies and
automotive materials.
There are many ways that all Ottawa residents can contribute to preserving
landfill capacity across the City. If you have any questions regarding this
please contact my office any time.
SSO Approved
Last week Council approved the Source Separated Organics
program, which is set to commence in March 2009.
This residential curb side organics collection program
will allow us to place kitchen scraps and a variety of organic materials into a
separate box for composting. I am happy to see this project finally moving
forward in our community because it is well overdue and will help the City
achieve our goal of 60 per cent diversion.
The program will compost approximately 100,000 each year
of organic materials that would normally end up in our City’s landfills. Items
such as food scraps, dairy and meat products, kitty litter, sawdust, soiled
paper and cardboard will be placed in a green bin and brought to a processing
plant which is being constructed in the vicinity of the Trail Road landfill.
The City of Ottawa has hired Orgaworld Canada Ltd to
assist in the implementation of the Source Separated Organics program. The start
up cost for this program is $16.8 million for the first year and $13 million a
year to continue operations.
For more information on Source Separated Organics and the
City’s Rethink Garbage campaign please visit my website at
www.shadqadri.com.
60 Sweetnam
This past May, City Council defeated the proposal to build
32 stacked town homes at 60 Sweetnam Drive.
Now, the proponent has filed to appeal of the City Council
decision to the Ontario Municipal Board (OMB). The first step in the process is
to have a pre-hearing with the OMB, which has been set for Friday, Oct. 26 at 10
a.m. in the Keefer Room, Heritage Building, City Hall, 110 Laurier Ave. W.
I have spoken with the developer and was advised that they
are still interested in speaking with the community on this proposal. It is
possible that at the OMB pre-hearing there could be a settlement of the issues
with the community and the proponent if the community is accepting of the
revised plans. For more information please contact my office.
Plasco Tour
Last week members of my staff and I toured the
PlascoEnergy facility, located at the City’s Trail Road landfill. This facility
has the ability to process up to 85 tonnes of unsorted municipal solid wastes
and also generate enough electricity to power an approximate 3,600 homes.
Currently Plasco is testing their facility and it was
great to have a first hand look at this excellent new technology. It is
encouraging to see that the City is working to find better methods of dealing
with our solid waste. I would like to thank my colleague Councillor Jan Harder
for arranging this tour. For more information and updates on PlascoEnergy please
visit
www.zerowasteottawa.com.
Youth Volunteers
Do you know a young person in Stittsville-Kanata West who
has volunteered their time to help foster cultural and natural heritage?
The Ontario Heritage Trust 2007 Leaders Program will be
recognizing youth in the Built Heritage, Cultural Heritage and Natural Heritage
categories. Some activities that would make a young person eligible for this
award include volunteering at a museum, developing exhibits or collections,
restoration of a heritage building and helping to preserve natural heritage
sites or gardens.
Ontario Heritage trust is accepting nominations for these
awards until Oct. 31. To access the nomination form, please visit
www.heritagetrust.on.ca.
Halloween
My ward office, located at 1532 Main Street, will be
turned into a fun Halloween haven on the evening of Oct. 31. I invite trick or
treaters of all ages to stop by and enjoy some spooky fun with my wife Theresa
and I that evening.
Our office will be open from 1 p.m. to 8 p.m. and I
encourage all of you to stop by and show off your creative costumes.
“Always Listening and Acting on Y our
Concerns”
As your Councillor, I always welcome your keen input and ideas on how we can
sustain and improve Stittsville-Kanata West. Please contact our office anytime
by phone at 613-580-2476, by email at
shad.qadri@ottawa.ca or visit my website at
www.shadqadri.com. Please note that you
can also contact my ward office every Monday from 9 a.m.-5 p.m. and every
Wednesday and Friday from 1 p.m.-8 p.m. at 613-580-2424 ext. 33440 or 33442.
Also, feel free to stop by anytime at 1532 Stittsville Main Street.
Sincerely,
Councillor Shad Qadri
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