St. Clair Township will begin a program to divert food waste from landfills and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
In partnership with Ottawa-based Food Cycler Science, the township has agreed to purchase 150 Food Cycler units and 300 replacement filter packs at a cost of $51,750.
Council also agreed to buy and donate units to each public and Catholic school within the township to help promote the reduction and diversion of food waste, at an additional cost of $2,275.
The township will begin selling the 2.5-liter countertop devices to St. Clair residents for a price of $175 each.
The Food Cycler is a closed-loop indoor compost alternative that dries and grinds food waste into a nutrient-dense byproduct that’s reduced in size from its unprocessed state. It can be used as fertilizer for lawns and gardens. But the use of the device can also help reduce the amount of home organic waste going to landfills.
According to a report created by the township’s Director of Engineering Brian Black, residents who purchase a unit will need to track their weekly usage of their Food Cycler for 12 weeks and answer a survey at the end of the trial.
count. Tracy Kingston said she supported the pilot project and was in favor of offering residents more green options.
“People have been asking for green bins and organic waste disposal, so I think this is a good idea as long as we put a push to sell 150 units,” she said at council’s March 21 meeting. “If we had some information booths or special events … as long as we do a good job in promoting them and selling them, I think it’s a very cool idea.”
Council voted in favor of adopting the recommendations in Black’s report and beginning the pilot project.
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St. Clair council also decided not to adopt a by-law with regards to off-road vehicles.
In January 2021, the province amended the Highway Traffic Act to make it so that municipalities without a by-law specifically prohibiting the use of off-road vehicles would essentially authorize their use on all municipal roads.
In March 2021, St. Clair Township council balked at introducing a new draft by-law regarding the vehicles, wanting to see how the issue played out in the township over the next year. A recent report by staff indicated that the township has not received a higher volume of complaints about ORVs by residents over the past 12 months and recommended that the draft by-law be withdrawn.
Deputy Mayor Steve Miller said he had not seen any increase in activity over the past year.
“I made this motion because I haven’t seen an increase (in ORV use), and I’m in kind of a rural area,” he said. “The only people I’ve seen who drive recklessly are the same people who did it before. I certainly haven’t seen an increase in the amount of people using (ORV’s).”