{"id":39612,"date":"2017-11-03T06:05:23","date_gmt":"2017-11-03T10:05:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/huntsville.dopperonline.ca\/?p=39612"},"modified":"2017-11-17T11:28:27","modified_gmt":"2017-11-17T16:28:27","slug":"mp-norm-miller-pushes-coffee-pods-compostable-idea-backed-ontarios-green-party","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/doppleronline.ca\/huntsville\/mp-norm-miller-pushes-coffee-pods-compostable-idea-backed-ontarios-green-party\/","title":{"rendered":"MPP Norm Miller pushes for all coffee pods to be compostable, an idea backed by Ontario’s Green Party"},"content":{"rendered":"

UPDATE November 15, 2017 \u2014 Miller launches petition inviting people to show support for his Reducing Waste One Pod at a Time Act<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Parry Sound-Muskoka MPP Norm Miller today launched a petition and invited people who support his Reducing Waste One Pod at a Time Act<\/em> to sign the petition either on paper or online.<\/p>\n

On November 1, 2017, Miller introduced Bill 173, the Reducing Waste One Pod at a Time Act<\/em>, a Private Member\u2019s Bill designed to keep plastic single-use coffee pods out of landfill by requiring all coffee pods sold in Ontario to be compostable.<\/p>\n

\u201cI have had great response to my Bill so I wanted to give people a way to express their support,\u201d said Miller. \u201cI will make sure to introduce any paper petitions I receive in the Legislature and talk about the online signatures when Bill 173 is debated on November 23<\/span>.\u201d<\/p>\n

Currently 1.5 billion single-use coffee pods go into Canadian landfills each year. While recyclable options are available, recycling them requires taking the pod apart and cleaning it out, something many consumers who use coffee pods for the convenience, won\u2019t bother to do.<\/p>\n

\u201cI believe compostable pods are the best solution to this issue,\u201d said Miller. \u201cIf you agree, please sign my petition.\u201d<\/p>\n

To print the paper petition or sign the online petition, please visit normmillermpp.ca\/petitions\/coffee-pods\/<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

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Yesterday (November 1), Parry Sound-Muskoka MPP Norm Miller introduced the Reducing Waste One Pod at a Time Act<\/em>, a Private Member\u2019s Bill designed to keep plastic single-use coffee pods out of landfill by requiring all coffee pods sold in Ontario to be compostable.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was introduced to the 100 per cent compostable pod by Doug Burns and Patricia Snell of Muskoka Roastery Coffee Co. in Huntsville,\u201d said Miller in a release. \u201cIt was immediately evident that this was a better solution so I wanted to do something to keep the 1.5 billion coffee pods used in Ontario each year out of landfill.\u201d<\/p>\n

The compostable coffee pod used by Muskoka Roastery, the PurPod100<\/a><\/span>, was created by Toronto\u2019s Club Coffee in collaboration with the University of Guelph. It has been shown to decompose in as little as five weeks.<\/p>\n

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\u201cWe had been looking for a sustainable answer to the single-serve coffee pod waste problem and when we learned of a made-in-Ontario solution, we jumped on it,\u201d said Burns, CEO of Muskoka Roastery. \u201cWe went to Norm for his help in promoting this world-class environmental technology and I want to thank him for championing this cause.\u201d<\/p>\n

Unlike recyclable pods, which require consumers to separate the plastic cup from the compostable coffee grounds, compostable pods can be composted whole. The Reducing Waste One Pod at a Time Act<\/em> would eliminate the possibility of non-compostable pods contaminating municipal compost, noted Miller’s release.<\/p>\n

Matt Richter, the Green Party of Ontario candidate in Parry Sound Muskoka, applauded Miller’s bill.<\/div>\n
\u201cThank you to Norm Miller for taking the initiative with Bill 173 to support fully compostable single use coffee pods,” Richter said in a release. “Keeping the millions of pods used annually out of garbage dumps helps the environment and our economy.”<\/div>\n
Richter noted that Bill 173 would support Ontario entrepreneurs who are creating compostable options, and reduce trash that affects the bottom line of municipalities.<\/div>\n
“The Green Party has long called for a zero waste strategy, involving businesses and consumers in creating a system for sustainable waste management,” said Richter in his thanks to Miller, adding that his party wishes “it had a faster implementation than four years – we support taking urgent action.”<\/div>\n

If the bill passes, Ontario would be the first jurisdiction in North America to require coffee pods to be compostable, said Miller. The bill is scheduled to be debated on November 23.<\/p>\n

Watch video of Miller’s news conference below.<\/p>\n

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