Why change from black bags to clear bags?
The Municipality of the County of Antigonish, along with several other municipalities in the area have decided to implement a clear bag program for regular garbage in order to maximize recycling and composting and minimize the disposal of waste in landfills. Since the release of the Province’s Solid Waste Management Strategy in 1996, programs have developed to capture resources from what was previously seen as waste. Food cans, beverage containers, glass jars, plastics, used paint, old tires, newspapers and food waste are all examples of such items. By capturing these materials we are able to reduce the amount of waste being sent to landfills. The Province achieved the goal of diverting 50% of the material from landfills by 2000, however since then there has been little change in overall waste diversion and in many cases the percentage has decreased. As the December 31, 2005 deadline for the implementation of second generation landfills nears, the costs associated with the disposal of