HawthorneVillager.com

Diapers can be dropped off at landfill for free.

The Region is making some changes to its waste collection system, including a new way for parents to dispose of diaper waste.
The modifications, which were approved by regional council Wednesday, mean that residents with small children will be able to drop off garbage bags full of diapers at the landfill at no charge starting January 5, 2009. Currently it costs $5 to do so.

Since the Region switched to biweekly garbage pick-up earlier this year, it’s heard from citizens who don’t want to hold onto dirty diapers for two weeks due to odour concerns, according to a report from Halton Commissioner of Public Works and Engineering Mitch Zamojc.

Diapers can’t be put into GreenCarts, which are collected weekly, because they would negatively impact the quality of the final compost product produced by GreenCart material, the report explained.

The solution, approved by council, will see a program implemented where residents can apply to the Region to receive 30 bag tags per year that they can place on clear garbage bags full of diapers. The bags can either be taken to the landfill site on Regional Road 25 or placed at the curb on garbage collection day if the six-bag limit is exceeded due to a large amount of diapers.

“A tag program for diaper waste is a low-cost option for residents that will not have a negative impact on (waste) diversion or result in any increased costs to the waste management program,” Zamojc’s report said.