Media Clipping — July 8, 2004, The Daily Courier, Kelowna, BC

N.S. seen as leader in garbage reduction

HALIFAX — Nova Scotia may have something to teach the rest of the country, if not the world, about dealing with garbage, a non-profit research group suggested Wednesday.

A report by Genuine Progress Index Atlantic concludes the province's solid waste management strategy is saving taxpayers at least $31 million a year.

Lead author Sally Walker said the study took into account the $72.5 million spent collecting and sorting trash each year since 1989.

But, she said, it also assigned a dollar value to benefits such as extended landfill life, reduced air pollution and job creation.

"There are many, many benefits. Since 1989, the waste management industry alone has added about 1,100 jobs. We did value that at between $6 million and $9 million a year," she said.

At its core, Nova Scotia's waste management strategy, which was introduced in 1989, treats waste as a resource and is designed to reduce its impact on the environment.

The GPI study says Nova Scotia now diverts about 46 per cent of its garbage from landfills -- a dramatic increase from the three per cent recorded when the strategy was first implemented.

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