From City of London City…

From City of London

City staff are grateful for the work undertaken and shared by the Association of Municipalities of Ontario (AMO), Regional Public Works Commissioners of Ontario (RPWCO), Municipal Waste Association (MWA) and the City of Toronto acting as one entity called the Municipal 3Rs Collaborative (M3RCs).

City staff are active members of M3RCs via RPWCO including being co-chair of the RPWCO Waste Subcommittee. City staff also participate with MWA. London Municipal Council has a representative on the AMO Board of Directors.

City staff are also very involved with the Ontario Waste Management Association (OWMA) and our grateful for the work undertaken and shared on behalf of the membership which represents over 60 municipalities and 190 companies and organizations in the private sectors that manage 85% of Ontario’s waste streams.

Summary comments on the draft regulation are addressed in four main areas:

A. General comments
B. Items of strong agreement
C. Items that could be improved and/or areas of concern
D. Potential impact and benefits on businesses in London and in Ontario

A. General Comments

1. This has been a long process including a few previous attempts at shifting to greater producer responsibility for the products and packages its produces. The Province should be commended for carrying through on this process during these unprecedented times and producing a draft Blue Box regulation in 2020.

2. It also need to be recognized that the development of the draft regulation was informed by ongoing and frequent input from municipalities, the resource and waste management sector, the businesses that produce packaging and paper products (often through their associations), and businesses that use packaging and paper products as part of retail activities.

3. The draft Blue Box regulation proposes to move the Blue Box program from a shared financial responsibility between municipalities and industry to 100% industry funded. It shifts responsibility for recycling services from 100% municipal to 100% industry, and takes positive steps towards strengthening the recycling system to increase environmental and economic benefits in Ontario.

4. As noted, in London, this potential direction has been strongly supported by Municipal Council for many years.

5. The proposed Blue Box regulation will save London taxpayers money. It shifts the cost to producers of packaging and products. How the new costs are handled by industry is yet to be determined. It must be recognized that some or all costs may be passed onto consumers of these packages and products. However, it will be up to industry to find efficiencies to contain costs and ultimately determined the best approach to reduce, reuse or recycle. The role of recovery has also been strengthened and represents both current and future opportunities as the science and empirical data are produced. These opportunities can occur during future review periods (e.g., assessment of environmental outcomes, results of life cycle analyses, etc.).

B. Items of strong agreement

Staff view of the draft regulation is it is as an important step towards a number of positive expected outcomes for London and are in strong agreement or agreement with most of the details and clauses presented in the draft regulation.

6. The transition schedule indicates that London will transition some time in 2023 which is the first year of the three-year transition period, resulting in positive outcomes for London at the earliest possible time. Municipalities with agreements for processing services at London’s Material Recovery Facility (MRF) including Aylmer, Bayham, Central Elgin, Dutton-Dunwhich, Malahide, Southwold, St. Thomas, Thames Centre and West Elgin are also scheduled to transition in 2023, extending further benefits to the region.

7. A net estimated annual savings of between $3.5 and up to $4 million per year for London once fully implemented in 2026. Based on final negotiation with industry and Miller Waste Systems, increased funds and/or a reduction in cost to London may occur much sooner.

8. Expanded Blue Box services to areas that may not currently be serviced by the City (e.g., parks, playgrounds, outdoor areas, and streetscapes in Business Improvement Areas), by 2026.

9. An expanded and standardized list of Blue Box materials collected and managed across the Province, likely increasing the number of items that Londoners can recycle either at the curb or through a depot system such as the City’s EnviroDepot.

10. Enforceable targets which producers must meet. The targets specified in the draft regulation indicate a substantial improvement over current rates. This has the potential to increase London’s recycling rates and overall diversion rate. This was identified as an important action in the City’s 60% Waste Diversion Action Plan.

11. The regulation is not expected to impact small businesses. Businesses with less than $2 million in sales annually would be exempt.

C. Items that could be improved and/or areas of concern

There are a number of areas in the draft regulation, summarized below, that indicate potential areas of concern or that could be improved:

12. Changes to London’s collection schedule - it is expected that London will change the waste collection schedule with the introduction of a Green Bin program. The increase from 42 to 52 recycling pickups per year will increase the cost of this service. Under the regulation, increased costs due to program changes implemented after January 1, 2020 may be ineligible. City staff will be seeking clarity on this.

13. The role of urban recycling depots – the current policy intent though the regulation is that where municipalities have curbside collection of Blue Box including multi-residential service, producers would be required to provide the curbside service but not provide any additional depot collection for Blue Box items. For years, Londoners have been able to bring Blue Box recyclables to the City’s EnviroDepots. Additional details will be sought on the rationale and intentions as this appears to be inconsistent with a seamless transition.

14. Compostable materials - compostable products and packaging are exempt from collection and targets until it can be determined how they can be best managed and diverted from landfill. There is a concern that exempting compostables will be an incentive for companies to move products and packaging to compostable material to avoid costs. There is also a concern that compostable materials need to be more clearly defined in the regulation to exclude paper-based products and packaging (e.g., pizza boxes, coffee cups) that can be recycled.

15. Targets - the regulation allows producers to reduce their recycling targets through incorporating recycled content from Ontario Blue Box materials into their products. As many products already include recycled content (e.g., glass, cardboard, aluminum), this provision could increase risks with little benefit.

16. Changes to service – beginning in 2026 (following the transition period) service changes may include the type of curbside container used (e.g., a curbside cart instead of a Blue Box), and how materials are sorted (e.g., single stream instead of two-stream). This is a lesser area of concern, but it may require a new way of recycling for Londoners, which may be more difficult for some residents.

17. Increased costs to consumers – producers may charge consumers a resource recovery fee to offset their increased costs.

D. Potential impact and benefits on businesses in London and in Ontario

18. As noted above, the regulation is not expected to impact small businesses in London. Businesses with less than $2 million in sales annually would be exempt (e.g., local convenience store owners in London).

19. Businesses are taxpayers in London and across Ontario; therefore a decrease in the use of municipal taxes for recycling benefits all taxpayers including local businesses in London.

20. There will be a financial impact on businesses that produce packages and products that are currently in the Blue Box system now or to be added in the future. The remaining 50% of current recycling program costs will be shifted away from taxpayers in London to industry. It is not known at this time (or may never be known) how industry:
• will handle the increased costs;
• how much can be absorbed by the business;
• how much can be addressed through process efficiencies; and/or
• how much will be passed onto consumers of the products and contents of packages.