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Yukon Party encouraged to get a little Greener

Yukon Party encouraged to get a little Greener There's a slowly simmering crisis in the Yukon, and the flashpoint is right by your kitchen sink. It's about garbage, waste management, the dump - call it what you may. The good news is that the Yukon govern

There’s a slowly simmering crisis in the Yukon, and the flashpoint is right by your kitchen sink. It’s about garbage, waste management, the dump - call it what you may. The good news is that the Yukon government has the ability to turn this crisis into an economic opportunity.

Page 15 of the Yukon Party’s election platform included, among numerous other responsible ideas, a call for 50 per cent waste diversion by 2015. Diversion is a term for activities that keep our garbage out of the landfill, activities like recycling, composting and reusing. Currently the Yukon is somewhere around 10 or 15 per cent waste diversion.

The Yukon Green Party would like to congratulate the Yukon Party for having the vision to make a commitment to waste diversion, and for having the vision to back that up with a concrete, measurable target. That’s leadership. We would also like to hold you accountable to your election platform while you still have two years to make good.

It’s time to make a change, to move forward together. Systems need to be created to make recycling and composting easier and less expensive than taking out the garbage. Education needs to take place to teach folks what and how to recycle.

Investments need to be made into the staff and facilities necessary for collection and separation of waste.

Time and again, communities have managed to make waste diversion a reality and a benefit. And it’s not just for the big cities -

Nova Scotia is a great example of good waste diversion practices. Closer to home, our very own Mount Lorne transfer station is a made-in-Yukon prototype.

The Yukon Green Party would like to congratulate the Yukon Party for taking leadership in this endeavour. We want you to know that we are 100 per cent behind you on this one and will be watching closely to see what you do to make your words a reality.

Kristina Calhoun Leader

Yukon Green Party