by Jonathon Shore WaterWatch 
Zero Waste Simcoe held its first community meeting yesterday at the Elmvale Community Hall on Queen St. Zero Waste Simcoe is a new and rapidly growing environmental group working throughout Simcoe County that is currently hosting two types of information sessions aimed at municipal councillors and residents  County wide over the next two months.
Board member Gord McKay of Midland started the evening's meeting, attended by 45 interested members of the community, by stating: "Zero Waste Simcoe is a grassroots organization about a year and half old and the purpose of this meeting is to provide you as residents with a background on Zero Waste, discuss some practical solutions and open the floor to questions."
Mckay and board member Andrea Matrosovs delivered two twenty-minute slide show presentations outling the philosophy, policy and visionary goals of Zero Waste but also the practical need for such an all encompassing sustainable waste management lifestyle across Simcoe County. 
"If Simcoe County were to achieve a modest waste diversion rate increase from 60 to 75% over the next three years, the landfill availability timeline would extend by 10 years, enough time to further develop Zero Waste solutions and do away with the immediate needs for landfills in the first place," stated Andrea Matrosovs during her presentation.
A large part of the meeting was devoted to presenting ways for residents to personalize the Zero Waste philosophy by doing things like "conducting a home waste audit, measuring the types and amounts of wastes produced and put out to the curb".  Beyond big picture federal, provincial, municipal bylaw alterations and producer importer behaviour changes, Matrosoves urged residents as consumers to "become aware, plan, set goals and become co-operative players with their own important role to play in attaining Zero Waste targets one household at a time".   
"We are a four-person household where I live in Collingwood and we have even adopted a three-bin system tucked into our bathroom which allows us to really fully use the town's diversion program already in place"  she continued . 
The latter part of the meeting ran on for more than an hour with Zero Waste  recycling suggestions and questions coming from most of those present.
Orillia resident and activist Kelly Klune observed that... " by purchasing something as common as modern diapers and disposing of them at the curb, " we are really subsidizing that industry...... and there are are many examples".  To which Gord Mackay responded that...." this was a perfect example of industry needing to be made top bear the cost of its own waste"  We need to tell retailers that we want to buy the product....not the waste".  
The next Zero Waste community meeting will be November 5th 7:00 to 9:00pm at Adjajla-Tosorontio Community Hall, 7855 30th Sideroad, Adjala.  For further information on upcoming deputizations at councils, further events and a list of Zero Waste resources please visit their website.