**CITY OF TIMMINS MEDIA RELEASE**

AET Group Inc. has been contracted by Waste Diversion Ontario (Continuous Improvement Fund) and Stewardship Ontario (SO) to complete audits of residential waste, with assistance from the City of Timmins. The final waste/recycling audit is taking place from April 23 to May 4.

Similar waste audits are being conducted in other municipalities including Peterborough, London, Simcoe County, Brantford, and Quinte. The combined information will provide important data that will be used to help reach Ontario’s waste reduction and diversion goals. The information will also be used by Timmins staff to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of our waste diversion programs.

During the audit, household waste will be collected from a sample of households for the purposes of learning about residential waste composition and how much of it can be, and is recycled. The waste collected from these households will be combined and sorted into waste categories (e.g. newspaper, glass bottles, food scraps, etc.)

“Waste will not be identified from individual homes,” assured Manager of Environmental Services Scott Tam. “Waste will be sorted and weighed the same day it is collected and then recycled or disposed of.”

The Environmental Services department is also making efforts to increase awareness on what can and cannot be recycled. Some of the most common issues encountered in the recycling program are:

Bagged recycling: Please place materials loosely in your recycle cart.

Non-recyclable materials.

 

Contaminated materials: Please ensure only clean materials are being place in your blue bin.