Kicking the can on what Blue Box changes will look like
Municipalities could save a total of up to $175M, says province
The province is still kicking the can on what changes to the Ontario Blue Box program will mean for taxpayers — but Niagara officials are welcoming the idea of waste producers being given full responsibility of managing and paying for the life cycle of their products and packaging.
Last week, the Ontario PC government announced plans to do away with municipalities and producers splitting the financial responsibility of the program – saying that blue box costs are expected to increase by approximately $10 million per year after 2019 under the current model.
The revamped program is expected to hit the curb in 2023.
In Niagara, there is currently a 50/50 split.
By the end of 2025, producers are expected to be fully responsible for paying for Blue Box expenses.
Details of the revised plan haven’t been made public yet.
Catherine Habermebl, acting commissioner of public works for Niagara Region, said in a recent interview that the consultation process between stakeholders and the province is crucial and that there is still work to be done on specific details.
“The true impact to the residents will be known once we see what the regulations look like,” said Habermebl, also adding “we welcome the announcement.”
In 2018, the cost to Niagara taxpayers for the program was approximately $3.5 million, she said.
“Low revenues” from the Region’s recycling facility in Niagara Falls has the government facing a potential $3.7 million deficit this year, said Habermebl, citing a drop in prices on the domestic and foreign markets as a major factor.
Strict regulations implemented by the Chinese government have largely affected recycling revenues on this side of the globe, too, she said.
The negative impact to the Region’s budget has also prompted a study on what the future holds for the Niagara Falls plant.
“We are looking at different options for that facility,” she said.
“These are the details we’ll have to work through,” added Habermebl.
Throughout the province, there is inconsistency between different municipalities on what is accepted as recyclables — some with different rules than others.
Habermebl said it is her understanding that a new list is being created as part of the new plan.
“What that list will look like will be worked out in the details,” she said.
Niagara Region chair Jim Bradley also welcomes the idea – but it’s not a new one, he explained.
“This has been in the works for as number of years,” said Bradley, a former Liberal MPP and minister of environment who worked on a plan a few years ago that he says is very close to the one being introduced by the current government.
“Essentially, it had all the similar components to what we’re seeing now,” he said.
“The opposition parties would not allow the legislation to pass,” he continued.
Bradley also didn’t hesitate to say the Doug Ford Conservatives are building their plan on the Liberals’ framework.
“I’m not surprised at all that the new government would take up the work that had already been done and move forward with it,” said Bradley.
He did call the plan “fair” and agreed that a lot needs to be calculated when it comes to how waste producers will be expected to foot the bill.
“That is precisely what the government is consulting on at the present time,” he said.
“That will have to be determined — who will pay and how much,” added Bradley.
Asked if he thinks the incoming formula will save money, he said it “has the potential to do so.”
There are currently over 240 municipally-based blue box programs, each with its own rules on what can and cannot be recycled through the blue box, said the ministry of environment, conservation, and parks in a recent news release.
An example of this is plastic shopping bags and other flexible plastic film being accepted in Toronto blue boxes, but not in Waterloo’s blue boxes.
Some of the benefits the province says taxpayers will enjoy from the changes are recycling being made easier through the creation of a standard list of what items are accepted, cost savings, “no disruption in service” during the transition, and opportunities to expand the program into parks and other public spaces.
The province also says there will be a chance to create new and alternative collection methods to divert materials that can’t be recycled by the program or that might contaminate collected materials.
Based on 2017 costs, once full producer responsibility is in effect, Ontario’s municipalities will save a total of up to $175 million annually, according to the province.