PARRY SOUND - The town has a new grant program for organizations that need to toss excess charitable waste.
Earlier this year, council charged staff with adding a new category to its existing Municipal Assistance Program (MAP) that would allow not-for-profit agencies that dispose of charitable waste to apply.
However, those organizations would not fit within the MAP program, because religious and charitable organizations - like the Salvation Army - are not allowed to apply for MAP.
The Municipal Assistance Program is for not-for-profit organizations as well as economic development-related agencies.
“The reason why charitable organizations are not included in the MAP is because they have more ability in terms of fundraising and are part of a national group and a bigger fundraising umbrella,” said town leisure services coordinator April McNamara who was given the task to come up with a new program for entities like the Salvation Army who are struggling with excess donation-driven waste. “Town can’t accept commercial waste, against the certificate of approval for the transfer station.”
Two issues
“There are two issues, one is the certificate of approval and the other is the corporation bylaw,” said Peter Brown, director of public works at council’s May 15 meeting. “The certificate of approval is clear, only waste from households are accepted to be precise - only waste from family farm operations responsible for those wastes shall be accepted at the site. Commercial/industrial institutions are not accepted at the transfer station. Any material that comes into the transfer station you must pay for.
“You must pay for the disposal of that material. With the exception of our once a year free dump day pass that we’re currently experiencing for the month of May. There are no exceptions. I have spoken at length, with my friends at the Ministry of Environment and they reminded me of the lack of exceptions.”
The new program, Charitable Waste Grant, would allow those agencies to apply and use the funding to come up with creative ways to dispose of the excess waste on their own.
“The budget that staff is recommending ($5,000 for the program in 2012) would not cover the entire cost of the organizations’ - specifically the Salvation Army - disposal fees, however it would provide some cost relief,” said McNamara in her report to council. “Agencies will no longer be permitted to take their waste to the transfer station on MacFarlane Street. Agencies will have to be creative in terms to waste diversification options…examples of how the funds could be used are refurbishment of goods to be resold, bin tipping fees - this would be on site garbage bins under third party contract.”
Mayor Jamie McGarvey thanked both McNamara and Brown for the work they did on the new program that was approved at the May 15 meeting.