Our Jo Phillips and Jeff Bateman returned to the District of Sooke’s Municipal Hall on July 10 to remind council that we’re still keen to see action on the three recommendations arising from our May, 2016 Talk Trash Open Space community meeting (which we first presented to the District last September). Our asks: i) a full-service resource recovery centre with free store and affiliated upcycling businesses; ii) a ban-the-(single use plastic)-bag bylaw for Sooke; and iii) three-tier (adults, children and pets) drinking fountains as both a civic amenity and a solid step towards discouraging bottled water (which sells at the staggering rate of a million bottles a minute world-wide). Here’s a download of the latest paperwork we’ve presented: ZWS July 10 delegation. The immediate good news is that Mayor Tait is eager to see the results of a model ban-the-bag bylaw that the CRD is now preparing with the City of Victoria and the Surfrider Foundation for potential use by any South Island municipality. Councillors remain keen about drinking water fountains in the town centre while also urging ZWS to seek partial funding through the CRD’s Environmental Services Committee. As for the resource centre, we know it’s a big-picture ask and that it will require strong leadership and zoning clarity from the District along with a private-sector partnership to become a reality.
Onwards we go with patience and persistence. 🙂 
(pictured: an Elkay three-tier water bottle-fill station with bonus taps for adults and children; there’s also a model with a water bowl for dogs at the base, a variety of which can be seen at the Galloping Goose parking lot half-way down the Sooke River Road.)
(pictured: an Elkay three-tier water bottle-fill station with bonus taps for adults and children; there’s also a model with a water bowl for dogs at the base, a variety of which can be seen at the Galloping Goose parking lot half-way down the Sooke River Road.)