Mrs. MacDonald stated as most of the Board members know, there is an operation with a biodigester in Leamington. Mrs. MacDonald stated that she met with them earlier in the term to discuss as to whether they would be of value to any County municipalities when the green bin pick up starts. They are thinking towards that and they think that they will be part of that discussion.

Mrs. MacDonald stated that when we talk about the County and smaller urban density, keep in mind that many people that live in the rural areas already compost and it has always been part of their lives. She stated those numbers might not be as visible.

Mr. Kaschak asked if there is no one else that wishes to speak at this time, he will ask Mr. Costante to present the motion at this time.

Mr. Costante stated that he appreciates the report and the recommendations in the report. He stated that his motion is a bit different from the recommendations in the General Manager’s report.

Mr. Costante read his motion as follows:

  1. THAT the Board RECEIVE the report for the information contained within, and

  2. THAT the Board APPROVE the development and implementation of a Regional Food and Organics Waste Management Plan and that the funding for such form part of the EWSWA Budget consistent with the Landfill funding model, and

  3. THAT the Board APPROVE a Food and Organic Waste Working Group comprised of municipal representatives from the City of Windsor and the County of Essex as well as an Environmental Consultant for the development of the Regional Food and Organics Waste Management Plan, and

  4. THAT the Corporation of the City of Windsor be responsible for all technical aspects of the Regional Food and Organics Waste Management Plan development.

Mr. Costante asked if he could get a seconder he will speak to it briefly. Mayor DiCarlo seconded the motion.

Mr. Costante stated that the fourth point of the motion is intended to be here due to the staff resources that the City has to manage the technical aspects of the plan development. He also stated that for him, fundamentally this is a climate change issue and it is a global challenge. He also stated that whatever we can do as a region is an opportunity to lead, share costs and efficiencies. When we look at the benchmark to the urban density a lot of that is open or subject to interpretation and he thinks Councillor McKenzie asked questions about the consumption and how we break this down. He also noted the comment from the Warden that 80,000 people living in Lakeshore, Kingsville and Essex don’t meet the threshold seems to be somewhat paradoxical and there are thresholds for a reason but believes there are obvious gaps in them. Mr. Costante stated that when we are looking at this challenge, he doesn’t think there is a better way to do this than do this as a region. Mr. Costante stated that the spirit of this motion is for it to be led through EWSWA and work with all the municipalities so that we can do this together.