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CANADIAN INDUSTRY ONLINE - JUNE 2013
PARTNER NEWS
ONTARIO CHAMBERS
June 13th, 2013
What is the Waste Reduction Act?
The Waste Reduction Act is a proposed
framework for the Province of On-
tario’s plan to increase waste diversion
and to re-vamp the current waste di-
version system, which is broadly seen
as ineffective and inefficient.
The corresponding Waste Reduction
Strategy is a blueprint for consultation,
implementation, and next steps for
reducing and harnessing the economic
value of waste.
Key features of the waste reduction
framework include:
Moving to an individual producer
responsibility regime where individual
producers are responsible for end-of-
life management of their products and
packaging
Transforming Waste Diversion Ontario
into the Waste Reduction Authority,
which would oversee compliance with
the proposed producer responsibility
regime
Efforts to boost diversion in the In-
dustrial, Commercial and Institutional
(
IC&I) sector
Eliminating “eco-fees” at the cash reg-
ister by introducing all-in product pric-
ing (retailers would not be allowed to
attach eco-fees at the point of sale)
Obliging producers to negotiate recov-
ery/processing costs with municipali-
ties
Increasing the diversion of a wider
range of wastes, including organics,
and developing and implementing
new standards for end-of-life vehicles.
The Current Waste Diversion Process
Currently, waste diversion under
the Waste Diversion Act is stalled.
Ontario diverts 25 percent of total
waste from landfill. Forty six percent
of household waste is diverted, while
the diversion rate for the industrial,
commercial, and institutional sectors is
much lower.
According to the Ministry of the En-
vironment, recycling creates 10 times
more jobs than disposal and 7 jobs are
created for every 1,000 tonnes of waste
recycled.
Failure to divert more of our waste
from landfill has consequences for the
dwindling capacity of Ontario’s mu-
nicipal landfills. It also places increas-
ing pressure on municipal taxpayers
to fund diversion efforts and deal with
rising costs.
Some Concerns
Many consequential details of the new
regime are to be determined through
regulations. They include:
The proposed Act will increase indus-
try’s share of Blue Box funding, but we
do not know how/when/what extent
this share will increase
The Act obliges producers to negoti-
ate with municipalities for the cost of
recovery. How will government ensure
that costs imposed are fair and that
municipalities are maximizing efficien-
cies, etc.?
How will the proposed rules impact
cross-border shopping and price dif-
ferentials between Ontario and border
states?
What can you do? Find out more and
get involved
For any questions about this issue, please
contact
, VP Policy &
Government Relations, at 416-482-5222,
ext. 2320.
PARTNER NEWS
