Hamilton city council is backtracking on a decision to change how it would deal with blue box recyclables.
A motion to gather expressions of interest from “alternative technology providers” had been approved at a public works meeting on Friday, but that decision was reversed at Wednesday’s council meeting.
The Friday motion followed an unsolicited pitch from a company called AmaLaTerra Inc., which proposed a plan to transform the city’s plastic waste into green energy through a “steam reformation” processor.
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Ward 8 Coun. John-Paul Danko said the plastic waste problem is not unique to Hamilton and stressed that there needs to be a focus on finding better solutions.
“When we’re talking about new technologies and being on the leading edge of industry, the leading edge is eliminating plastic at the source — not at end of pipe.”
Both Coun. Danko and a representative of AmaLaTerra appeared on CHML’s Bill Kelly Show this week, with Danko sharing his concerns about the company’s pitch and Hamiltonian Jodi Formosi speaking on behalf of the company’s proposal.
In the meantime, city staff will go ahead with the standard request for proposals from providers to handle Hamilton’s recyclables after the current contract expires in March 2020.
Mayor Fred Eisenberger proposed the city send a letter to the provincial government asking it to follow through with the Waste Free Ontario Act, which was established by the previous Liberal government and would compel manufacturers to use recyclable packaging. The mayor’s motion was passed by council.
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