Region forges ahead with recycling project

A pilot project for disposing of recyclable waste will be introduced in Peel this September.
Peel Region Council decided yesterday that the project will be tested in 1,200 homes in Mississauga and Brampton, offering residents the option of using the familiar blue box with a mesh top to prevent contents from blowing away, or using a recyclable plastic bag. A third option, a larger bin on wheels being used without much success in Toronto, has been discarded.
Andrew Pollock, Peel's director of waste management, demonstrated both options for councillors after Mayor Hazel McCallion complained that the current system is creating a huge mess in the city.
“We used to have a spring cleanup every year and the city looked clean,” McCallion told her colleagues on Peel Council. “But now everything is a mess and something has to be done.”
McCallion said newspapers and other recyclable products are being blown out of the blue bins on windy days, and she recounted how she recently picked up such waste in her own neighbourhood.
Pollock demonstrated a new version of the blue bin, one equipped with a mesh topping. The mesh is screwed on at one side of the box and can be pulled over the top of the bin and snapped into place on the other side, preventing contents from blowing away. There would also be a handle on the bin to make it easier to carry.
“The mesh top does provide an extra step for the collectors and we’d have to see if that has an impact on productivity,” said Pollock. “That remains to be seen. The bag, on the other hand, would seem to be faster because it’s just a matter of picking it up.”
onlinenews@mississauga.net