Blue bag program operating at former Comeau Lumber Ltd. plant
Meteghan, Nova Scotia, April 21, 2012 – Federal and municipal representatives gathered in Meteghan today to celebrate the completion of a new recycling facility.
The Municipality of Clare has retrofitted an existing building on the site of the former Comeau Lumber Ltd. plant and transformed it into a recycling centre. In addition to new, locally manufactured equipment, the Municipality purchased some used equipment to get the centre up and running. The new facility opened earlier this year and is expected to process over 1,000 metric tons of recyclable materials annually. Residents of the Municipality of Clare, the Municipality of the District of Digby, and the Town of Digby collect recyclables in blue bags, which are then picked up, sorted and baled at the facility. Bales are then sold and transformed into other products by other companies.
“By retrofitting an existing building and reusing equipment, this new facility embodies reduce, re-use and recycle at its best,” said Greg Kerr, Member of Parliament for West Nova, on behalf of the Honourable Denis Lebel, Minister of Transport, Infrastructure and Communities. “Our government is proud to have invested in this innovative project that will benefit both local residents and the environment. Through Canada’s Gas Tax Fund, we are continuing to deliver long-term infrastructure funding to support municipalities, while creating local jobs and economic growth across Canada.”
“The Province of Nova Scotia is pleased to see municipalities making major investments in healthy, vibrant and sustainable communities throughout Nova Scotia, such as the new recycling facility in Meteghan that will serve the citizens in the Municipality of Clare,” said John MacDonell, Minister of Service Nova Scotia and Municipal Relations. “The Gas Tax Fund provides municipalities with longer term, predictable funding and allows them to invest in environmentally sustainable infrastructure.”
“Without the Gas Tax Funds, it would have been impossible for the Municipality of Clare to set-up the recycling centre,” said Jean Melanson, Warden of the Municipality of Clare. “This plant enabled us to create much needed employment in the local area and it put us in charge of managing our own recyclables in-house, to be more self-reliant. We are pleased to work with the provincial and federal governments to continue to access funds for years to come from the Gas Tax program. This will allow the municipality to further enhance its solid waste management and further develop this ‘green’ industrial park situated in Meteghan.”
This $625,000 project was funded entirely through the Gas Tax Fund.
Canada’s Gas Tax Fund is a key federal program which provides stable, predictable funding to municipalities to help them build and revitalize public infrastructure. This program primarily supports capital projects such as local roads, public transit, energy systems and waste management infrastructure that lead to cleaner air, cleaner water or reduced greenhouse gas emissions. On December 15, 2011, the Government of Canada passed legislation to make the Gas Tax Fund a permanent annual investment of $2 billion per year.
Canada’s Gas Tax Fund provides $55.9 million in annual funding for municipal infrastructure in Nova Scotia. The Municipality of Clare will receive over $1.5 million from the Gas Tax Fund between 2010 and 2014.
For additional information about federal investments in infrastructure, visit infrastructure.gc.ca.
Contacts:
Geneviève Sicard
Press Secretary
Office of the Minister of Transport Infrastructure and Communities
613-991-0700
Infrastructure Canada
613-960-9251
Toll-free 1-877-250-7154
Susan D Mader-Zinck
Communications Advisor
Service Nova Scotia and Municipal Relations
902-722-1461
E-mail: madersd@gov.ns.ca
Warden Jean Melanson
Municipality of Clare
902-769-2031
jmelanson@municipality.clare.ns.ca
