Minister's Speech

Remarks prepared for:

The Honourable John Gerretsen
Minister of the Environment

Waste Reduction Week - Greetings

Atrium-on-Bay
Toronto, ON
Monday, October 20, 2008  (12 pm)

(Check against delivery)

Thank you, Joanne (Minister to be introduced by Joanne St. Godard, Executive Director, RCO)

Hello everyone!

I’m glad to be here today along with my good friend and colleague, the Minister of Education, Kathleen Wynne.

Let me begin by extending greetings on behalf of the Province of Ontario and our Premier, Dalton McGuinty. 

It’s great to see so many of you here for the launch of Waste Reduction Week.

And congratulations for being part of the eco-schools program.

You're all setting an example and leading the way by showing us that kids can make a difference.  

Our government is committed to going green and making our province more sustainable.    

You all know this is a very important challenge.

With the assistance of the Recycling Council of Ontario, the sponsors and businesses here today, it’s really us to each of us to help secure a better future.

Dealing with the challenge of waste reduction and diversion may seem less glamorous than, say, solar powered cars, but the real foundation for “going green” is the three Rs: Reduce, Reuse and Recycle.  

You don't have to be a biologist or a scientist to see that in nature, there’s no such thing as waste.  Everything is reused and recycled over and over again. 

So, we need to work together to get rid of the idea of waste in our society.  And that means getting the message out to everyone.

I’m counting on you to be the messengers – help us spread the word.  There’s no better time to do that than Waste Reduction Week. 

I’m encouraged to see so many students here today who are passionate about protecting the environment. 

Your efforts are helping make the difference.  And you can pass the message on to other schools, to your parents and to your communities.

We are making progress here in Ontario — 60 per cent of the materials collected through the Blue Box program are now being recycled.

And we’re working on doing more … we’re helping to make it more convenient to divert household hazardous and special wastes like old paint and batteries …

We’re also working on bringing forward a new program to deal with electronic wastes – all those old cellphones, computers and televisions.

But to get the kind of cooperation we need to make a difference and eliminate the concept of waste in our society, we need to raise awareness.

In your homes, your schools, wherever you go in your daily life.

Waste Reduction Week is certainly helping tremendously in that area.

So, I want to challenge all of Ontario businesses, institutions and industries to step up and find ways they can create less waste, reduce packaging and find innovative ways to recycle and reuse.

And I want to challenge each of us as individuals to live up to the standard set by your eco-schools.

That’s the challenge to do everything we can to reduce the amount of waste we produce and start to think about “waste” in a different way.

By working together, all of us can reduce the amount of waste we produce and build a cleaner, healthier province. 

I'm looking forward – as I'm sure many of you are – to hearing from Oscar the Grouch and his take on the waste situation.

Now, there are experts on waste management but when it comes to garbage,  I believe Oscar is in a class by himself.

I want to thank RCO and particularly Joanne St. Godard for all their great work — whether it’s encouraging alternatives to plastic bags or taking back fluorescent lights, the RCO is helping us all find better ways to reduce, reuse and recycle.

We know Ontario has the people power to solve our waste issues.

Together, we can make a difference!

Thank you.

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