Regular Board Meeting Minutes
September 11, 2019
B. Report from Provincial Blue Box Recycling Advisor
The General Manager referred to page 20 of the agenda package. On August 15, 2019, the report by Special Advisor, David Lindsay, was released to the public regarding Recycling and Plastic Waste.
The main highlights of Mr. Lindsay's report which will impact municipalities are as follows:
- 1. Transition timing - By the end of 2025, producers will assume the full cost of the blue box recycling programs across the province.
- 2. Municipal assets – Producers will not be forced to use or pay for municipal assets that they do not need.
- 3. Common and standardized collection system – The blue box will be the main means by which recyclables will be collected. Residents will not have to face the situation where they are setting out different recyclables to be collected by different producers.
- 4. Standardizing what's in the blue box - Regulations will also establish a standard list of blue box materials that must be collected through blue boxes across Ontario.
- 5. Determining eligible sources for blue box materials – The Special Advisor has recommended that Producers should provide blue box collection wherever it was provided by municipalities as of a specified date. After completing transition, producers should gradually expand collection in multi-residential buildings, as well as parks and public spaces where municipalities provide waste collection.
The General Manager also noted a chronological order of some other important dates:
2019 & 2020
Government consults and finalizes regulations that specify how the blue box will move to producer responsibility.
2020
Contract termination date of November 30, 2020 between the EWSWA and Windsor Disposal Services Ltd. (WDS) pertaining to the collection of blue boxes in the 7 County municipalities and the processing of all recyclables delivered from the City of Windsor and the County municipalities. Therefore, another contract will need to be executed with WDS or another service provider to cover the period December 1, 2020 until a producer transition date is determined.
Contract termination date of November 30, 2020 between the EWSWA and Windsor Disposal Services Ltd. (WDS) pertaining to the repairs and maintenance of equipment in the two EWSWA