What can go in the green bin? • ALL FOOD including meat,

fish, bones, dairy

• PAPER PRODUCTS such as paper plates, cups, and towels; shredded paper

• PET WASTE - wrap in newspaper or layer in between other organics. Tip: a Grade 4 student suggested reusing paper coffee cups to scoop, then fold closed, and bin

40% of garbage going to landfill can go

into the green

bin.

Kitchener is the home of the Blue Box. Invented right here in the early 1980’s, it is now a worldwide symbol for recycling.

In 1985, Nyle Ludolph said that when it comes to the blue box, “Recycling is something each one of us can do to help the environment.”

We are world leaders in finding creative ways to recycle waste. Nyle encouraged us all to continue the good work by recycling organics:

“Let’s do it again with the green bin.”

People used to say the same about the blue box! • Find a system in your home that works well for you. Start by placing

containers where convenient and getting everyone involved • Use paper liner or layer/wrap your organics with paper waste (eg., tissues,

shredded paper, newspaper) • Empty and rinse containers regularly

Remember that food scraps can be messy no matter where you put them. They are a valuable resource so place them in your green bin.

They aren’t harmful and are naturally attracted to organics.• Keep lid closed, empty often, and rinse regularly• Cover the food - layer or wrap food scraps with paper waste • Spray a solution of white vinegar and water into the containers • Raccoons? We have a “raccoon” lock, call us to order

Tip: One school is successful at keeping raccoons away by leaving a stuffed animal sitting on top of the bin

Check our website for more information, www.regionofwaterloo.ca/waste

These ways work to overcome smell:• Drain off liquids before putting into the kitchen container • Empty kitchen container into the green bin regularly • Sprinkle baking soda (a natural deodorizer) into the container • Layer/cover food scraps with paper waste • Store in a cool, shaded area • Set your green bin out for collection every week

The“Yuck”Factor

Pests

Smell

Turning your green bin from gruesome to gorgeous

NO plastics, including biodegradable plastic bags, please

Local hero: Nyle Ludolph Father of the Blue Box

1927-2011

Call us: 519-883-5100 TTY: 519-575-4608

Email: waste@regionofwaterloo.ca

Celebrate Waste Reduction Week (October 15 to 21). Challenge your family to put

out only a half bag of garbage for that week and every week. It is easy to do; just use the green bin and blue box to their fullest.

Sort all the resources out of your garbage, don’t waste them.

95% of the compost is used

for agriculture. No artificial

fertilizers added! Healthy soil grows

healthy food.

Green bin materials are used to create a new resource – compost!

As a direct result of the Green Bin, we reduced

over 1,300 tonnes of GHG (greenhouse gas)

emissions in our Region from 2010 to 2011.

Using the green bin saves valuable

landfill space – we only have

one landfill!

Many residents are already part

of the green movement on

their streets.

All single family homes in the

Region of Waterloo have access to

the green bin program.

Tweet us: @WasteWRFB: Region of Waterloo

Waste Management

www.regionofwaterloo.ca/waste

We are here to help you sort it out:

Q: Do I have to use paper liner bags? A: No. Paper liner bags are not required. However, they absorb liquids, keep your bin clean, and can keep

your organics loose enough to make it easy for the driver to empty the bin.

While you can buy excellent paper liner bags, there are alternatives:

• Use paper sugar bags or take-out food bags

• When shopping, ask that your purchases be bagged in paper

• Watch my video on our website and I’ll show you how to make your own kitchen container liner out of newspaper www.regionofwaterloo.ca/waste

Happy Green Binning!

Shannon is a Customer Service specialist in our Waste Management Office.

Remember your green bin this holiday season!Don’t be scared...Place Jack inside or beside your green bin for collection.

Family meals mean leftovers for the green bin. • Fruit, veggies, meats, dairy

• Candy, snack foods, cake, cookies

• Cranberry and other sauces

• Greenery from wreaths, poinsettias, houseplants

• Nuts/shells

BIN at your parties: paper plates, cups, napkins all can go into the green bin!

We need your input!Residents of Waterloo Region are some of the best in the province when it comes to saving space in our one-and-only landfill, but we can all do more. Audits have shown that we could recycle or compost a further 54 per cent of what is still in our garbage bags.

The Region is working on a new Waste Management Master Plan, to recommend new ways to keep garbage out of our landfill. We’re also looking at what to do with our leftover garbage once the landfill is full. Come to one of our Public Information events to learn more about the study and give us your feedback:

Wednesday, October 24 Kitchener Memorial Auditorium 400 East Avenue, Kitchener 5 p.m. to 8 p.m.

Details about other information events and a link to our online survey are available on our website www.regionofwaterloo.ca/waste

Make the time to make a difference!

Step 1: Re-think your purchases.

Step 2: Fully use what you have.

Step 3: Sort out any unwanted items and “waste” for the least impact to the environment.

Bicycles (Waterloo only, spring to fall)

Concrete/rubble

Cooking oil

Drywall

Electronics

Goodwill Industries for gently used household items (Waterloo location only)

Habitat for Humanity for reusable home building items (Waterloo only, spring to fall)

How is green bin material recycled?Green bin material is collected in a separate compartment on the garbage truck. It is brought to the Region’s organics bunkers. The organics are then bulked and trucked to a new high tech processing facility in Guelph. Collaborating with another nearby municipality improves cost efficiencies as building a composting

facility costs millions of dollars.

The processor uses a careful balance of heat, moisture and oxygen in enclosed composting tunnels. The organic waste is processed into compost in about four months. Our no-plastic rule makes the finished compost a very high quality product.

Ninety-five per cent of the compost is used for agriculture and goes back to the earth. Dan, a local farmer, uses “green bin” compost on his farm in Shingletown. He reports that, “There is a lot of nutrition in food which is good for the soil. When compost is worked in, it improves the soil for next year’s crop.”

Feed the green bin, feed the soil, feed our families

But wait! There are also drop-off recycling programs available to help you recycle more:

Please call or check our website for details on locations and times. 519-883-5100 • TTY 519-575-4608 • www.regionofwaterloo.ca/waste

This Waste Reduction Week, take the challenge

Household Hazardous Waste (HHW) Depot accepts items that require special disposal such as: paints, batteries, compact fluorescent lights, chemicals, etc. (Waterloo location only)

HHW Community Days: mobile units are set up to collect residential HHW Oct. 20 — St. Jacobs Arena Nov. 3 — Kitchener Memorial Auditorium

Paint reuse program: Free reusable paint products are available from the Paint Reuse area. (runs spring to fall)

(Waterloo location only)

Pallets + wood

Scrap metal

Shingles

Styrofoam chunks (large blocks, no peanuts)

Tires

Toilets

Tree stumps/brush

Just these two programs and you

have reduced your garbage by at least 50 per cent!

We have many solutions to help you:Use the Green Bin 40 to 60 per cent of the average household waste is organic. Using the green bin helps you recycle the majority of your waste!

Use the Blue Box Roughly 30 to 40 per cent of the average household waste is acceptable in this program.

How to get to a half bag of garbage per week

Kitchener’sleaf collection

programKitchener’sleaf collection

program

City of Kitchener leaf collection drop sitesopen October 5.No matter where you live in the city, please,where possible:

• Mulch or compost leaves on yourproperty, or

• Take leaves to one of the drop-off siteslisted, or

• Bag your leaves for collection under theRegion of Waterloo’s yard waste programor deliver them directly to the regionallandfill site.

Drop-off sites1. Schaeffer Park (Bloomingdale Road)2. Breithaupt Park

(Kinsmen Park - off Union Street)3. Kitchener Auditorium

(Ottawa Street North entrance)4. Meinzinger Park Soccer Fields

(Homer Watson Boulevard)5. Lions Arena (Rittenhouse Road)6. Southwest Optimist Sports Field

(Pioneer Drive)7. Cherry Park (Strange Street at Waverly Road)8. Victoria Street South at Eastforest Trail

(Eastforest Trail parking lot)9. Hofstetter Park (40 Hofstetter Avenue)

These drop-off locations are for LEAVES ONLY. All othermaterials left at the drop-off locations will be subject to afine. NO plastic bags will be accepted. Only paper yard-waste bags will be accepted. Plastic bags will beconsidered garbage and will fall under illegal dumping.The drop-off sites will be monitored by city staff and a zerotolerance approach will be taken with any offenders found.

Want more information about leaf collection in Kitchener?Use the online tool to find the leaf collection options for yourspecific address at www.kitchener.ca/CurbsideCollection,or by calling 519-741-2345.

Above ground cistern

Rain garden

Stormwater Credits...apply now and save!If you own residential property and you have:rain barrels, cisterns, infiltration galleries, rain gardens, or permeable pavers you could be eligible to receive up to 45% of the storm-water portion of your utility bill!

Visit www.kitchener.ca/stormwatercredits to apply now! Simply complete the online applicationtelling us how much stormwater you divert from the municipal system using the tools above. Apply before March 1, 2013 and eligible credits could be retroactive to Jan 1. 2011 or the dateinstalled. After March 1, eligible credits will be applied to the date the application was received by the city.To receive a paper copy of the application visit Kitchener City Hall, 9th floor

or call 519-741-3400 x3255. Stormwater credits are also available for non-residential property owners – visit www.kitchener.ca/stormwatercredits to learn more.

SWM_Citizen_Ad_Halfpage_Oct2012_Layout 1 12-10-09 5:02 PM Page 1

SAVE MONEY on energy-efficient

products for your home

Product selection and availablity may vary by store. Offer valid from September 10 – December 31, 2012. Coupon offers cannot be combined. Only available at partici-pating retailers found at www.saveonenergy.ca

Go to www.saveonenergy.ca/coupons to get your coupons today.

SaveONenergy coupons are back. Save money on a variety of energy-efficient products for your home including CFL light bulbs, LED light bulbs, lighting fixtures, ceiling fans and more.

CAMBRIDGE AND NORTH DUMFRIES HYDRO INC.

by Helen Hall Business owners are always looking for ways to save money, and therefore, make money. The 3rd annual SaveONenergy symposium held in Kitchener on September 27 at Bingeman’s Marshall Hall highlighted ways that businesses can save mon-ey by reducing the amount of energy they use. The symposium was hosted by Kitchener-Wilmot Hydro, Waterloo North Hydro, and Cambridge and North Dumfries Hydro. This year about 350 people attended, said John Finch, Supervisor of Energy Conservation with Kitchener-Wilmot Hydro. It is a free event for customers of the three hosting utilities. “The show offers a spectrum of energy-saving op-portunities,” Finch said. In addition to the booths, guest speakers shared their knowledge about LED lighting, Efficiency with Drives, Compressed Air Systems, Energy Audits, and Saving with Fans. Sybil Taylor, Communications Director of Steam Whistle Brewery was the Keynote Speaker. She has an Honours Bachelor of Business Administration

from Wilfrid Laurier University and has worked in beer marketing since 1987. She spoke about her role in being a steward of Steam Whistle’s environmental initiatives, for which the company has received much public recognition and numerous awards. Visitors could also tour 60 booths that featured en-ergy efficient products from lighting to air compres-sors. Keelan White, who works in product development at Deluce Lighting of Caledon has had a booth at the show for all three years. “This is one of the best shows in the area,” he said of the Waterloo Region symposium. He said Deluce Lighting is a full-scale lighting man-ufacturer that specializes in energy-efficient lighting, in particular LED wall packs. White said he enjoys talking with the business own-ers who drop by their booth. “We hope we can help local businesses save some money - which is the name of the game,” he said. Finch said the 2012 symposium was their busiest one so far. “There is no other show like it,” he said.

HELD SEPTEMBER 27

3rd annual SaveONenergy symposium helpsbusinesses save money by reducing energy

Kitchener-Wilmot Hydro Conservation Team organized the SaveONenergy symposium.Photos by Helen Hall

Deluce Lighting has had a booth at the SaveONenergy symposium in Waterloo Region for the past three years. Working at the booth this year was Ontario Business Development Manager Serge Fontaine, left, and Product Developer Keelan White.

After you read the

KitchenerCitizen

drop us in your

Blue Bin.

We’re green too!