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Bonfield, prepare to donate your bottles and reveal your trash

Township is moving toward clear garbage bags and promoting more recycling
landfill
Bonfield wants to extend the life of its landfill and will institute a clear bag policy to promote recycling / Stock image

Bonfield council wants the Township’s landfill to last as long as possible, so it’s working to promote more recycling to divert waste from the dump. Council approved moving to a clear bag system and will no longer permit recycling materials from entering the landfill.

No more black garbage bags filled with glass or aluminum shall be pitched into the dump, because landfill space is at a premium. A new landfill would easily cost the town around a million dollars, plus hundreds of thousands to prepare studies to locate a suitable area.

“There are huge expenses involved in that,” noted councillor Steve Featherstone. “So we’re trying to do a better job in promoting recycling.”

“We save overall when we save our landfill,” he added. “We’ll save a lot of tax money, and ecologically, it’s the best thing for our environment. It is beneficial to everybody.”

On May 3, 2023, the clear bag rule takes effect. The Township released a notice entitled “We can See Clearly Now,” detailing the new program. “All household garbage must be in a clear bag so that we may identify that no recycling is entering the landfill,” the Township explained.

“Recycling material will no longer be permitted to enter the landfill. All recycling must be placed in the appropriate bin.” Furthermore, “one small opaque 25 litre bag may be used for washroom garbage or personal sanitary items.”

The Township suggests you “start practicing this effort now to avoid refusal to dump.”

To help with the recycling efforts, space has been made at the dump for people to leave their beer cans, wine, and liquor bottles. The township will return these to the Beer Store for the deposit, and all of this money will go toward the Parks and Recreation Department.

Last year, any funds made from returning bottles went to operating the landfill. However, council thought it would be good to move that money to Parks and Recreation to help fund community events. Around $1,500 was raised last year from returning bottles, Featherstone noted.

“We run a lot of events throughout the year and we put on a massive Canada Day event,” he said. “It made sense to put the money back into those programs.”

David Briggs is a Local Journalism Initiative reporter who works out of BayToday, a publication of Village Media. The Local Journalism Initiative is funded by the Government of Canada.


David Briggs, Local Journalism Initiative reporter

About the Author: David Briggs, Local Journalism Initiative reporter

David Briggs is a Local Journalism Initiative reporter covering civic and diversity issues for BayToday. The Local Journalism Initiative is funded by the Government of Canada
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