The area municipalities of…

The area municipalities of West Parry Sound, including the Town of Parry Sound, the Township of The Archipelago, Seguin Township, the Township of McKellar, the Municipality of McDougall, the Township of Carling and the Municipality of Whitestone, are all requesting that the Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks reconsider our blue box transition year and change it from 2025 to 2024.

Several of these West Parry Sound Municipalities had requested that transition take place in 2023, however the Ministry has proposed that all the West Parry Sound Municipalities transition in 2025. We collectively request a 2024 transition year for the following reasons:

The West Parry Sound Municipalities currently process their blue box materials at a recycling centre located in Bracebridge, in the District Municipality of Muskoka. The District Municipality of Muskoka is transitioning in 2024 and it supplies the largest share of materials processed at this facility. We are concerned about issues that may be created if we transition at a later point. Should the recycling centre not be successful in retaining the District Municipality of Muskoka’s business through the transition to full producer responsibility, the recycling centre may not be viable from a business perspective and may close, leaving the West Parry Sound Municipalities with no recycling facility. Also, we understand the District Municipality of Muskoka is in the process of reviewing the option to build its own transfer facility, creating further uncertainties.

One of the advantages of the blue box transition will be the ability to offer an expanded list of recyclable commodities. The Greater Toronto Area (GTA) is transitioning in 2023 and this may create challenges when GTA residents migrate north for the summer and expect to recycle the same list of acceptable items. This may cause contamination in our waste systems because we will not have transitioned yet. A delay of one year will be a challenge, but a delay of two years will cause additional incremental costs due to contamination.

The West Parry Sound Municipalities have varied programs, ranging from curbside pick-up to depots, including some unique collection methods on island based transfer stations that barge blue box recyclables back to the mainland. An earlier transition would enable producer responsibility organizations to quickly test different program settings and apply this unique learning to other municipalities.

In closing, we respectfully request that the Ministry consider transitioning the blue box program in the year 2024 for the West Parry Sound Municipalities, and not 2025.

Please see attached letter signed by the Mayor's of all seven West Parry Sound Area municipalities.

Reeve Bert Liverance - Township of the Archipelago
Mayor Ann MacDiarmid - Seguin Township
Mayor Jamie McGarvey - Town of Parry Sound
Mayor Dale Robinson - Municipality of McDougall
Mayor Peter Hopkins - Township of McKellar
Mayor Mike Konoval - Carling Township
Mayor George Comrie - Municipality of Whitestone