Blue box program could end

Jack Tynan
news@fortfrancesonline.com

A $500,000 price tag to refurbish the Northwestern Ontario Recycle Association’s processing plant in Dryden is the final blow for the organization, which is about to hand over operations to a Thunder Bay company.

“We’ve asked municipalities to respond by Nov. 9. It’s either that or shut down,” noted NORA chair Dennis Brown, who also is the mayor of Atikokan.

The cost of updating the Dryden plant—not a random thing,” he added.

“You have to look at each customer individually and look at their needs and work something out to suit those needs.”

Smaller municipalities with drop-off sites also would have to negotiate with the company to have either driveway pickups or depot collections.

“Some have a depot system and some have pickups, and our proposal was, well, pick one or the other,” said Wilson.

Other limits also would be in place, such as only those plastics numbered one and two would be picked up and glass still will not be collected.

NORA also will dispose of its assets, such as its vehicles and the Dryden processing plant, while maintaining its office to co-ordinate recycling and handle WDO funding.

Fort Frances council approved the recommendation from NORA to proceed with the new contract at Monday night’s regular meeting.

If the proposal is accepted by most municipalities, it will take effect Jan. 1, 2002.

“I wasn’t expecting to hear anything from anybody until the middle of November and that would give us six weeks to prepare to begin in January,” said Wilson.

Recool has been operating in Thunder Bay for 12 years and has been picking up recycling from residents there for seven years. Currently, 50 percent of its business is from the commercial sector, where they pick up recycling from 500-600 businesses.

By law, all Ontario communities of more than 5,000 people are required to have recycling programs in place.