It was a preview of the new three-stream diversion program offering the chance to get a look at the new blue, gray and green bins that it will use.
The blue box and gray box are pretty well identical except for colour. Each has a place for an address, a hot-line number in case there are questions, and information stamped right into the plastic about what materials are acceptable.
In short – empty containers for the blue box, discarded paper for the gray.
These containers are being delivered as we speak, Orr said, and each will contain a brochure expanding on the information as to what is acceptable and what is not acceptable in each.
“Really, all we are asking residents to do is keep their papers separate from everything else,” he added.
Existing blue boxes can continue to be used he said, but these are bigger than the ones first distributed in the late 1980’s. As well, additional boxes can be purchased, along with an optional ventilated blue-plastic lid that snaps on to the new blue box.
The boxes nest, so they are asking that, on windy days, the blue box be placed on top of the papers in the gray box to prevent scattering.
Blue and gray boxes are being left in driveways this summer more or less from the west end of the county to the east. They have already been delivered in Port Hope, and deliveries are starting in Cobourg and Hamilton Township.
The green bin for composting has wheels and an orange latch – an optional stronger locking mechanism to provide just that more protection from animal predation will also be for sale. These will be delivered late in August to prevent people from putting out compost before these collections begin the first week of September.
This is for meat, bones, dairy products, grains, basically anything you can eat, Orr said.
Inside the green bin will be a smaller counter-top (or below-counter, if you prefer) bucket-type container handy for scraping plates into. There is also a sample compostable liner for this smaller bucket, allowing you to tie up your compostables garbage-bag-style and drop them into the green bin. These compostable bags are already for sale in many grocery stores, Orr said.
