Ontario blue box costs and contents to become packagers' concern

Ontario cities could save $115 million a year byrelinquishingthe costs and contents of blue boxes to the manufacturers that created the recyclables in the first place, according toenvironment minister Glen Murray.

That's a big piece in theproposed Waste-Free Ontario Act being debated this weekatQueen's Park.

The current system isn't working,Murray said, because mostmaterials still end up in landfills.

"Proctor and Gamble, Unilever,who make all those wonderful consumer products, soaps and shampoos, will be responsiblefor the products and thecost of the life cycle of the products," explained Murray about how the new system would work.

Municipalities send bill to manufacturers

Companies would have to reportdata to a central, organizing agency.

Municipalities would still run the blue box program, according to the environment minister.

But instead of splitting recycling costs for blue boxes and, in Ottawa,black boxes down the middle with industry stewardship groups, cities wouldsend the entire billto the companies that produced the products, Murraysaid.

"I've been pushing for that because they think they can get savings;they think that they can improve their packaging, reduce the volume of their packaging, use materials that are more durable," said Murray.

"They'll design their products to be durable rather than designing their products for the dump."

Cities want 'seat at the table'

"It's a big change," said Dave Gordon, a policy advisor for the Association of Municipalities of Ontario who is following the waste file.

Ontario cities and towns support the overall notion of making producers take overthe costs of dealing with what goes into recycling bins, he said.

But the new lawshould givemunicipalities a seat at the table todecidethe roll-out, Gordon said, because they're the ones who have to deal with the rest of the garbage the bill doesn't cover.

And, despite the minister's assurance,Gordon isn't convincedcities will always be the ones collecting residents'paper and plastic at the curb.

"I think municipalities want to ensure the service to residents remains intact with good service levels and good coverage," said Gordon.

Devil in details, city staff tells committee

The devil will bein the details, City of Ottawastaff told councillors atenvironment committee this week.

As it waitsfor Ontarioregulations that wouldput meat on the bones of the new law, should it pass, the City of Ottawa will likely put off implementing parts of itswaste plan thatdealwith recycling.

Staffnoted that Ottawa contracts out a lot of waste management, so the city won't be left with costly city-ownedrecycling facilities shouldmanufacturersdecide to go about collecting their products and packaging a different way.

In Ottawa, paper and plastics in the black and blue bins make up just under 20 per cent of the waste collected from homes. Less than half is diverted to those bins, or the green bin, and typically 55 per cent ends up in the landfill.

Along with the bluebox material, the new act would cover what happens withused tires, waste electronics, and hazardouswaste.

Theindustry organizationsthat collect thecontroversial so-called "eco-fees" are also supposed to be eliminated under the proposed law.