Do you want a say in how or what garbage is handled in Cornwall?
Cornwall ON – Your opportunity has arrived. The City of Cornwall invites and encourages your input on present and future ways to manage the City’s waste production. Your attendance is welcome at a public meeting this Thursday, May 13 th from 3 – 7:30 pm in the Public Works Boardroom (downstairs) at 1225 Ontario St.
The trilliums are here. Many forested areas outside of the city’s limits have become blanketed with spring trilliums. A wonderful place in the city to enjoy this spring flower show is the Lynwood Forest area on Marleau Ave., east of Tim Hortons.
Have you seen this plant before? This yellow flowered plant has recently bloomed and really catches your eye with its brilliant yellow. I have noticed this plant in boggy areas outside of the city. Does anyone know the name of this plant? Please let me know so that I may share with our readers in the next column.
New word of the week! LEED. If you hear of a home, business, facility or school that is a LEED project…this is definitely a good thing. LEED stands for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design. This is what you can count on in all LEED projects; sustainable site development (often using land previously developed), water efficiency (e.g. Rainwater to flush toilets), energy efficiency, no off-gassing in materials selection, superior indoor environmental quality and very often innovation. Safe to say that we can equate LEED projects with efficiency, health and comfort. Check out http://www.cagbc.org/leed/ for further information.
I will be embarking on a new initiative beginning the middle of May. That initiative is to conscientiously make my weekly purchases excluding products that come in Styrofoam and plastic. Now I am certain readers that you can appreciate the challenges involved here. Bread, sandwich meat, milk…these staple items are routinely served up in plastic wrap. Now I will allow myself the luxury of taking my own plastic containers to shop or to purchase something in a plastic container that I am able to put in my recycle bin. I will begin one step at a time…as I often say, ‘progress not perfection’.
Previously my township would accept plastic bags for recycling. Since the discontinuation of this service I am painfully aware of the plastic waste my family generates on a weekly basis. I look forward to sharing my escapades, solutions, bumps in the road and successes on this interesting journey. I cannot make local business owners operate in an environmentally conscious manner however I can choose biodegradable over ‘in the land fill for the next 200 years’. I can request specific packaging for my purchases and perhaps in doing this will get business owners and service providers thinking about how to serve their clientele while being stewards of this planet, our resources and the generations to come.
Your comments and suggestions are encouraged and appreciated.
