The Council for the Township of Conmee has implemented a recycling program for the Landfill site. This program is designed to do two things. The first is to divert solid waste from the actual trench. This is important because the Ministry of the Environment has only approved a small area at the Landfill to be used to actually bury garbage. A ring of monitoring wells has been established around this approved area. The Township must employ a qualified individual or company to monitor the ground water that appears in those wells. This monitoring will alert us to any migration of contaminates into the ground water. This monitoring program costs several thousands of dollars per year.

Not only is the actual landfill area small, the Township is also required to cover the trench on a regular basis. The Township uses sand in the summer and snow in the winter to provide the cover. The covering of the trench is designed to help prevent the birds and elements from moving the garbage out of the trench. Unfortunately, it is a fine line between providing enough cover to keep out the birds and filling up the trench with sand instead of garbage.

Once the current landfill area has been used, the Township will have to apply to the Ministry of the Environment for permission to expand. A new ring of monitoring wells will have to be established. The Ministry of the Environment may require further studies of water and ground water which can be costly.

So obviously then, the more items we can recycle to other uses, the longer our Landfill will last. Paper and light cardboard, cans and number 1 and number 2 plastics can all be recycled. Although other items can also be recycled, there is currently no facility or company in our area that will take them.

The second reason for recycling is obviously our environment. Each and every piece of garbage we put into the ground will contaminate or change it in some way. Reusing items delays the time it takes to make it to the Landfill. Reusing materials also ensures that we don't use up all our natural resources, including trees, water and minerals.