County discusses recycling transition

By Cecilia Nasmith

At its June 17 meeting, Northumberland County council will receive a staff report recommending a preferred date for transitioning responsibility for the Northumberland recycling system to producers of packaging and paper products.

This follows up on last August's provincial announcement of plans to transition responsibility for the provincial recycling system from municipalities and First Nations over to producers, with the aim of making recycling easier for people and ensuring that the Blue Box program remains viable over the long-term by:

· Ensuring a common province-wide collection system;

· Standardizing what goes into the Blue Box;

· Setting effective province-wide diversion targets; and

· Transitioning costs away from municipal taxpayers.

The transition to Producer Responsibility will happen over a three-year period beginning in 2023, with producers becoming fully responsible for providing recycling services province-wide by the end of 2025.

The province will decide when each municipality transitions during this period. In order to support the province’s decision-making process, the Association of Municipalities of Ontario has asked municipalities to share their preferred date for this transition.

After county staff's careful review of all aspects of recycling operations, the recommended transition date is Jan. 1, 2023, a process that will include winding down the county’s operation of the Material Recovery Facility in Grafton. With this recommendation to begin early in the process, staff hope to best position the MRF for possible purchase by the private sector as an operating MRF, where recyclable materials can continue to be processed by the private sector following transition to Producer Responsibility.

“This recommendation is an opportunity to shape the outcomes of this transition for our community, including positioning the Material Recovery Facility for possible continued operation by the private sector, which would preserve some local employment opportunities,” chief administrative officer Jennifer Moore stated in the press release.

“The province's intent with this transition is, in part, to shift the costs of administering a recycling program away from municipal taxpayers, and the county will see an estimated savings of $2.97 million annually as a result.

“These dollars will be reinvested into the ongoing provision and innovation of waste services for our residents. This includes strengthening curbside collection programs and off-setting the significant costs of administering and maintaining the Brighton landfill and the eight closed county landfills; alleviating some of the pressure on the tax levy.”

The recommendation before council on June 17 also addresses the potential for continuing to administer collection of recycling on behalf of producers, post-transition. The county currently administers a contract for curbside collection of all residential waste and recycling in Northumberland, and will continue to provide collection of waste, green bin and leaf-and-yard waste following the launch of Producer Responsibility.

Staff also recommend that the county seek to partner with producers to administer one large contract for all local waste and recycling collection, which is likely to generate favourable pricing for both the county and the producers due to economies of scale.

It is important to note that, regardless of staff recommendations on timelines and future partnerships,the final decision on timing for transition and on recycling service contracts will ultimately rest with the province and producers.

Northumberland Director of Transportation, Waste and Facilities Mo Pannu said in the press release that the county has proudly offered recycling services to residents since 1991, with the MRF processing recyclable materials since 1996.

“In that time, over 300,000 tonnes of recyclable materials have been diverted from our landfill though the MRF; a volume large enough to fill the Rogers Centre,” Pannu pointed out.

“Our MRF colleagues have made this accomplishment possible through their hard work, resilience and dedication. We sincerely appreciate their contributions to our organization and our community.

“In the years leading up to the transition of the Northumberland recycling program, we will be focused on ensuring the team is supported throughout the process, and that our collaboration with producers results in a seamless transition of high quality recycling services for Northumberland residents.”

The full report on staff’s recommendation for a preferred date to transition to Producer Responsibility is included as part of the agenda for the upcoming meeting of County Council, available at Northumberland.ca/portal.

Further details about the Province’s plans for transition of the recycling system to Producer Responsibility are available online at bit.ly/2MIKOGd.