Ottawa's Environmental and Climate Protection Committee has voted to allow residents to throw plastic bags into green dumpsters.
On Monday, the committee approved the terms of a renegotiation contract with Orgaworld, which hired the company to handle residential organic waste in the city.
If approved by the council, then now these wastes will include dog excrement and plastic bags that were previously banned.
'This is sending out the wrong message,' Lapp (opposed MP) said after the meeting on Monday. 'This is at the cost of continuing the use of plastics, but this is something we should try to reduce.'
However, urban workers stated that they wanted to make as many residents as possible use green bins, even if this meant them to throw away some plastic. Ottawa's organic waste transfer rate is about 40% disappointing, the city hopes to improve it. By allowing residents to package their organics in plastic bags, it will encourage more people to use the project by reducing the so-called 'cause'.
The chairman of the committee, David David Chernushenko, pointed out that the province has not yet set the standard for compostable bags. Many members ignore the cost. The committee heard that the plastic bags eventually packed in green bins will be filtered out of the final compost products of the Orgaworld factory. But it may also leave a very small amount of plastic.
The council will debate other methods for promoting the transfer of waste after the next election. These may include the use of transparent plastic bags to help reduce household waste, or limit the amount of waste allowed on the roadside.