December 18, 2019 Attachment 1:
Background on Transition to Full Producer Responsibility
Municipal governments have been advocating for over a decade for producers to have full fiscal and operational responsibility for end of life management of their packaging, printed paper and paper products. Producers are best positioned to reduce waste, increase the resources that are recovered and reincorporated into the economy and enable a consistent province-wide system that makes recycling easier and more accessible.
In August 2019, Minister Yurek announced that municipal Blue Box programs will be transitioned to full producer responsibility over a three-year period based on the recommendations from the Special Advisor's report titled, "Renewing the Blue Box: Final report on the blue box mediation process." Municipal governments played a key role in helping to develop the recommendations within this report. These recommendations broadly reflected the positions advocated by AMO and there was also a great deal of alignment with producers on how the Blue Box should be transitioned.
The municipal transition is proposed to occur between 2023 and the end of 2025, as shown in the table below:
| Date | Description |
|---|---|
| Sept. 2019 - Dec.2020 | Blue Box wind-up plan developed for Stewardship Ontario |
| Development of a Regulation under the Resource Recovery and Circular Economy Act, 2016 | |
| Jan. 2021 -Dec. 2022 | Producers prepare to assume control and operation of system and work with municipal governments and service providers |
| Jan. 1, 2Q?3 Tran.sition . of iqdivitj .LJql ITILJ.P.i.cipal B.I LJ B ox pr9g rn.111sJQf ull pr Qd yf r. Dec. 31, 2025 responsibility. Oc.curs Jn phases ayer th..r e years witp a rpJlingtotal pfup to one.-third oftbtProyincial prograrn. tr a.nsit ip 17iri g;:1nn LJ all y | |
The Minister wants to ensure that the transitioned Blue Box system is affordable for producers, workable for the waste processing sector, and effective and accessible for residents. AMO and municipal representatives are involved in the consultation process to develop a new regulation for the Blue Box. The Province's intent is to finalize a Regulation by the end of 2020.