The Mountain View Regional Waste Commission's recycling program targeting agricultural twine will be nominated for a provincial Minister's Award for Municipal Excellence.The suggestion came earlier this month from Div. 2 Coun. Patricia McKean, who told council that nominating the program might be a way of creating more public awareness about it.“The twine recycling program was a great partnership between Mountain View County andthe Mountain View Regional Waste Commission,” agricultural services manager Jane Fulton confirmed.The program made history in February when a 38,900-pound load of reclaimed agricultural twine, representing five years' worth of collection, was shipped to a Minnesota-based company for recycling.The Farm Plastic Round-up Program started in 2007 as a one-day event at the Olds Waste Transfer Station and now runs from the first Monday in April to the last Friday in October. As an incentive, $100 is paid to the first 100 participants who bring in 100 kilograms of agricultural plastics.The agricultural plastics that are accepted for recycling include twine, hay tarps, silage tarps and poly. The twine must be clean and bagged in clear plastic bags, which can be picked up for free at the county office or the Olds Transfer Station.Year round MVRWMC accepts agricultural plastics at the Olds Waste Transfer Station free of charge.The nomination will also cite the county's wire recycling program that operates out of the Didsbury Landfill.The Minister's Awards include recognition in the areas of innovation, partnership, public safety and outstanding achievement. Award recipients will be announced at the 2012 fall conventions of the Alberta Urban Municipalities Association and the Alberta Association of Municipal Districts and Counties.
