In July of this year, the Township of Schreiber will be implementing a new bylaw with an emphasis on recycling and changes to the way garbage is picked up.

A recent study determined the landfill site has an expected life of only 13 more years. New legislation mandating changes in landfill operation and recycling is being forced on residents and many are not too happy about it. The biggest complaint has been the new addition of bag tags which will cost taxpayers an additional $100 per year. There will also be a requirement to put trash into containers for curbside pickup.

For years most residents have simply put out a few bags in front of their houses on garbage day. The township office had received numerous complaints about how the programme would be rolled out and a lot of misinformation had been circulating in the community. To present the information directly, a public meeting was set up to educate residents on Earth Day. The Schreiber Media Centre was asked to record the event to allow the town to post the information from the meeting on its website and social media pages.

Around 80 people attended the event with a noticeable lack of attendance from younger people. Older residents were informed of the meeting through their connection with the Schreiber Senior Centre and many of the older attendees were not initially impressed with this new way of dealing with garbage. 

The meeting was conducted by the Director of Operations, Tammy Ibey. Tammy took up the task and conducted the meeting very professionally. She started with an explanation of the new rules and the reason why it was important for residents to commit to recycling. She also spent time talking about how the annual Spring Clean event would be conducted. Every spring the township provides a free service allowing residents to place all unwanted and discarded items onto the curb for them to be picked up and taken to the landfill site. 

The recycling component of the bylaw will be serviced by a Thunder Bay company at no charge to residents. It is hoped that residents will eventually see the benefits of the new bylaw and the life of the landfill site can be extended.