The Town of Saugeen Shores Environmental Committee has come up with a series of projects it would like to see done to improve respect for the environment.
Councillor Victoria Serda says the seven member committee met three times to come up with the ten recommendations.
They include a re-use depot for residents at the landfill site, 34 public bike racks in various places, a town subsidized tree program for private property, subsidized rain barrels, and better promotion of blue box recycling.
Serda says the biggest recommendation is a complete Community Sustainability Plan.
She says it’s about more than the environment, but about culture, looking after low income residents, and making sure businesses stay viable.
One of the committee’s recommendations has already been implemented — a municipal environmental calendar will be rolling off the presses and onto household walls shortly.
Serda says you’ll be able to see exactly what day your recycling and garbage is picked up at the curb.
The cost of the recommendations varies, developing a re-use depot would cost 20 thousand dollars, 15 thousand for bike racks, and one thousand for a recommended municipal greenhouse gas emissions inventory.
A project manager who has assisted Kincardine with their sustainability plan will attend the December 7th Saugeen Shores Council meeting to provide more information.
Mayor Mike Smith is positive about the suggestions, saying a couple are very ambitious, but he sees most of the ideas moving forward.
He says the committee’s report is well-detailed, complete with cost-benefit analysis and suggestions for implementation.
The project ideas will be discussed further during the 2010 budget talks.