The region’s solid waste authority needs a life-line.
Waste Check is facing a budget shortfall this fiscal year.
Nova Scotia’s 7 solid waste authorities are funded through Divert NS, which administers the province’s deposit refund system.
But the amount of money provided for municipal programs hasn’t changed in 20 years.
Waste Check Region 7 general manager Gus Green says the costs to municipalities to offer those same services certainly has
increased over those two decades.
Now he says, they are looking to the seven municipal units in the region for help.
“Nothing seems to have changed. We’re still anticipating a shortfall in funding that we’re receiving from Divert Nova Scotia…
Divert of course was formerly known as the Resource Recovery Fund Board…so we’re looking somewhere in the vicinity of a $50,000
shortfall this coming fiscal year.”
He says it will be difficult to cut more without affecting jobs.
“Over the last number of years we have been cutting back. We had a staff of 8 here at one time, we’re down to 6 now. We’re still
attempting to provide all the same services with six staff that we provided with eight. It wouldn’t be sustainable to do that with less people.”
Green says Waste Check has an annual budget of $500,000.
The six municipal units provide $100,000 in total of that with the majority of the balance coming from Divert NS.
Region 7 consists of the municipalities of Yarmouth, Argyle, Clare, Digby and the towns of Digby and Yarmouth.
