Item - 2021.IE24.11

The Infrastructure and Environment Committee recommends that:

1. City Council direct the General Manager, Solid Waste Management Services, to report back in 2022, to the Infrastructure and Environment Committee, with an update on the status of any negotiations that may occur with registered Producer Responsibility Organizations, as well as the status of the producer rule making and allocation table and their impact on the City's blue box operations during the transition period from July 1, 2023 to December 31, 2025.

2. City Council request the Province of Ontario to direct the Resource Productivity and Recovery Authority, as part of its regulatory oversight responsibilities, to develop and implement a process to engage the City of Toronto during the development of the Common Collection System Agreement which will allow the City to support the transition for Producers, to prepare residents for any changes to blue box recycling servicing change requirements, and to also make any necessary adjustments to other areas of the City's integrated waste management service to mitigate any negative impacts to residents' experience with curbside waste management services as well as mitigate any potential undue financial burden on City of Toronto ratepayers. 

3. City Council communicate to the Minister of the Environment, Conservation and Parks, City Council's position that in order for a successful transition of Toronto's Blue Box program to producers:

a. Producer Responsibility Organizations must work with the City on frequently servicing blue box containers in public spaces (i.e. City parks, playgrounds, streets, transit stops) to reduce litter accumulation, facilitate safe vehicular and pedestrian access to these areas, as well as have service standards for managing designated materials from these public spaces;

b. the Province of Ontario should revisit management requirements for some broad material categories as the recovery targets for those materials are close to being achieved, even under the current provincial diversion rate; and

c. the translation component of the promotion and education obligation that is mandated for producers must extend beyond English and French to include all of the languages that reflect the diversity of the City of Toronto and the Province of Ontario.

The purpose of this report is to provide an update on Ontario Regulation 391/21 - Blue Box that the Province adopted on June 3, 2021 and that transitions the City of Toronto's (the City) Blue Bin Recycling Program to producers effective July 1, 2023. This report includes information about key elements of the adopted regulation and details potential impacts to Toronto's integrated waste management system, including the recycling system for single family households, multi-residential buildings, schools, and some facilities and public spaces. The report also describes potential scenarios for the City's future role in the new recycling system and details considerations and principles that will guide discussions with Producer Responsibility Organizations on transitioning the City's blue box management responsibilities to producers starting in 2023.

Information on preparatory activities for the transition and system change is discussed in the staff report, including an overview of business transformation and change management work, planned review of the utility rate model and user rates, and ongoing City-led Provincial policy and regulatory advocacy.