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Reducing Garbage in Landfills will Affect the Whole County

Paying more for bag tags, getting charged for large articles, or creating a mandatory recycling law. Those are just a few of the recommendations County Staff have made in regards to creating a waste management plan. Oxford already has a strong diversion rate of 54%, but staff say there's still a need to reduce the amount of waste that ends up in landfills. County Council will have their say in a workshop on April 10th. Councillor John Lessif says it all comes back to the proposed mega-dump. "Everyone knows the county has taken a position on the landfill site that's proposed in Zorra that we are encouraging a better way of utilizing where we put our garbage. This initiative is about further diversion of our garbage, which will impact all of the county," said Lessif. There are eight different options that County Staff have brought to the table (in chart on the right). If all were implemented it would cost the average taxpayer $31.78 more a year. Waste Management Coordinator Pamela Antonio says there are a few opportunities for public participation. "We'll be doing a second online survey that will come out at the end of April. We have proposed open houses as well where the public can come and provide us with feedback. This has very much been a public input driven process and we want to continue with that," said Antonio. The plan is slated to be finalized in June 2013. It's one that's already been a year in the making with staff starting to work on the plan in February 2012.

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