News Release Archive
ENVIRONMENT--MINISTER MARKS EARTH DAY ----------------------------------------------------------------- Environment Minister Wayne Adams today acknowledged the importance of Earth Day when he said 82 per cent of Nova Scotians surveyed in a recent poll by Corporate Research Associates believe that environmental cleanup will contribute to a growth in the economy. Earth Day, which is today, was born in 1970, launching the first wave of the modern environmental movement. Since then, public concern about the state of the environment has steadily grown. At the time, the problems far outnumbered the solutions. However, today Nova Scotians are creating the solutions to environmental challenges and selling those ideas abroad as well. Mr. Adams said Nova Scotia has entered the second wave of the environmental movement. "We have shattered the myth that we could have either economic growth or environmental protection, but not both. The truth is that environmental protection is as good for the economy as it is for the ecology, and that is especially true here in Nova Scotia." Said Mr. Adams: "It was just a year ago that Nova Scotia embarked on the most ambitious journey of environmental discovery in all Canada. Our Solid Waste Resource Management Strategy will cut by half the garbage fouling the soil of our beautiful province. We have set our sights on achieving a 50 per cent diversion rate by the year 2000. "I am pleased to report that after just one year, Nova Scotians have achieved a diversion rate of 20 per cent. This is a testament to the strong environmental commitment of this government and our municipal partners. However, the real secret to our success is the strong commitment to the environment shown by the people of Nova Scotia. They have taken to recycling, reducing, reusing and composting with even more enthusiasm than we had expected." Nova Scotians recycled 152 million beverage containers in the past year. That is a return rate of 75 per cent. The recycling of newsprint and corrugated cardboard saved more than 30,000 trees from the saw blade. "There were those who predicted we would kill municipal recycling programs," said Mr. Adams. "I knew at the time they were wrong. Today I have the proof. Today, 39 of the province's 53 municipalities offer curbside recycling with others actively planning to offer the convenience to their residents." Nearly 100 Enviro-Depots now serve the recycling needs of Nova Scotians. The Resource Recovery Fund Board Inc. reports that more than 640 people are now taking home paycheques as a result of this ambitious environmental program. Those jobs are mostly in rural Nova Scotia, where the need for employment opportunities is the greatest. "Our municipal partners are sharing in the economic benefits of our environmental success. The Resource Recovery Fund Board has approximately $2 million available for municipal diversion funding this year. They have already distributed a half-million dollars to municipalities with more on the way. The higher the diversion rates, the greater their share of the benefits." Mr. Adams said Nova Scotians are becoming environmental alchemists. "We have proven that we can turn garbage into gold for the benefit of Nova Scotians. Besides the more than 600 jobs at Enviro-Depots, another 50 to 75 people will soon have good-paying permanent jobs in the Annapolis Valley thanks to our tire recycling program. TRACC NS is constructing a new plant at Cornwallis that will open later this year." When compostable organics are banned from landfills in 1998, one of the greatest threats to the environment will be removed. Another environmental problem will become a commercial opportunity. "By the year 2005, we will have just seven landfills left in the province, compared with more than 40 today," said the environment minister. "The air we breathe is already clearer due to our ban on the open burning of garbage. We have set out on an ambitious journey of environmental discovery. Now, other jurisdictions are taking notice of our course and following in our wake." Nova Scotia has one of the most advanced environmental technology sectors in the world. A consortium of local companies that built the Lunenburg recycling and composting facility has secured similar contracts in the United States and Saudi Arabia. Stinnes Enerco has gone from operating one compost plant in Colchester County to being a serious contender for contracts in Europe and the Caribbean. Mr. Adams noted that environmental trade efforts in the Caribbean have secured more than $10 million in contracts for Nova Scotia companies, and another $40 million to $45 million in business is under negotiation. Private firms involved will release more details in the coming weeks, he said. Last week, Adams was in Puerto Rico with Nova Scotia private environmental firms. "They invited us because Puerto Rico is just starting to embark on the environmental journey we began a year ago. They believe we are on the right track and want to buy our expertise and technology." Said Mr. Adams: "Earth Day is a fitting time to remind Nova Scotians of how far we have come in such a short length of time. Our collective environmental efforts and advanced technology are admired around the globe. We have a beautiful province. We still have environmental challenges to overcome. But, working together, Nova Scotians are making this a cleaner and more prosperous place to call home." -30- Contact: John Whidden 902-424-2077 trp Apr. 22, 1997 - 3:20 p.m.