Blue box overhaul stalled

Government looks at placing burden of blue box program solely on industry
By Tanya Talaga Toronto Star July 24 2010
Plans to fully privatize the province’s blue box recycling program, saving municipalities up to $120 million a year, are in limbo due to the Stewardship Ontario fiasco, the Star has learned. The move to a 100 per cent industry-funded blue box program could save both municipalities and property taxpayers “tens of millions of dollars”, according to Peter Hume, president of the Association of Municipalities of Ontario.
“Not only is this good financially for municipalities, it’s the right thing to do for the environment,” Hume said Friday.
The net annual cost of the blue box program to municipalities ranges from $92 million tos $120 million.
But retailers are fighting the change because they want to preserve the status quo, under which municipalities share blue box costs equally with industry.
Cabinet documents obtained by the Star show the Waste Diversion Act was supposed to have been amended to transfer all costs to industry earlier this year.
“These changes to the Waste Diversion Act will drive Ontario’s green economy, reduce the amount of waste going to landfill, and help fight climate change by encouraging a ‘design of the environment’ concept,” according to the 17-page memorandum.
But against the backdrop of problems with Stewardship Ontario, the arm’s length organization established by Queen’s Park in 2002 to manage recycling, any amendments have been delayed until at least the upcoming fall session.
The ministry of the environment attributed the delay to the need to take the time to “get this right.”
“As we’ve seen with our existing waste diversion programs, this is a very complex file,” said spokesperson Matt Conacher. “We want to ensure we take the time to get this right.”
Stewardship Ontario is in charge of handling municipal household hazardous waste and was responsible for rolling out the eco fees that Environment Minister John Gerretsen was forced to scrap Tuesday after outrage from consumers and retailers.
Ontario has imposed an eco fee on manufacturers and importers of goods that produce hazardous waste since July 1, 2008. But many people only noticed them when the fees were expanded on July 1 to cover 22 types of household items including asthma inhalers, cleaning products and pharmaceuticals. There were numerous complaints about retailers applying the charge wrongly or inconsistently.
The Liberal government is scrambling to cobble together a replacement program by Oct. 18. In the meantime, the fiasco appears to have sidelined the blue box revamp.
An industry-run blue box program would reflect the province’s position that the only way to reduce packaging on products is to transfer the responsibility for recycling to those who create the packaging in the first place. In bureaucratic parlance, this is called “extended producer responsibility.”
Progressive Conservative Leader Tim Hudak opposes changes to funding of the blue box program. The party argues that the government’s plan will place an unfair burden on businesses and manufacturers and will cost jobs.
Ontario was seen as a leader in recycling after pioneering the first blue box program in 1981 and residents have embraced the recycling effort.
It would take at least five years to transition from the program’s current shared funding structure to a totally business-run blue box program, said Hume.
“Municipalities would like to have this happen overnight but we recognize the realities of the economic situation and that there needs to be a transition period,” he said, noting AMO sent a letter to the environment ministry in February urging the change.
“We support the concept of allowing flexibility for producers in how a program is established, designed and operated, as long as it’s not at the expense of resident convenience or accessibility to the recycling program and does not compromise current residential diversion rates achieved in the existing packaging and printed paper recycling program,” Hume wrote in his missive.
The Retail Council of Canada wants to the blue box program to remain a shared 50-50 responsibility. The council, which represents 43,000 stores, is headed by Diane Brisebois, who also sits on the board of directors of Stewardship Ontario.
The council argues the blue box program is confusing and inconsistent across the province and that there is a patchwork of over 400 different municipal programs in place. The council wants to see a harmonized blue box program.
“That said, it will be a challenge to reach this lofty goal as currently (more than) 400 municipalities operate at different service levels and they accept different materials for recycling at their material recycling facilities,” the council said in a submission to the provincial government on the blue box program review in Feb. 2009.
But differences in the municipal programs are overstated, said Hume. “The retail council saying it is a patchwork would lead you to believe it is wildly different and that is not really the case. If you bought your blue box from Halton and moved to Ottawa, the differences would be minor,” he said.