Item - 2025.IE20.5

The Infrastructure and Environment Committee recommends that:  

1. City Council authorize the General Manager, Solid Waste Management Services to negotiate and execute any service agreements or amending agreements with any private commercial waste management service provider or municipal entity, for the City of Toronto to be contracted to provide a new premium Drop and Load services and / or Drop and Load service that includes haulage to a third party landfill, based on terms and conditions outlined in this report, for the management of garbage at the City's transfer stations for a period of up to ten (10) years, ending on December 31, 2035, on terms acceptable to the General Manager, Solid Waste Management Services and in a form satisfactory to the City Solicitor.

2. City Council authorize the General Manager, Solid Waste Management Services to negotiate and execute any agreements or amending agreements with any private commercial waste management service provider, only where cost effective, for transfer station services, haulage services, processing services, and any related services for Blue Bin Materials that the City continues to collect from non-eligible sources, for a period of up to ten (10) years, ending on December 31, 2035, on terms acceptable to the General Manager, Solid Waste Management Services and in a form satisfactory to the City Solicitor.

3. City Council, recognizing that the City is no longer required to collect and manage recycling material from eligible sources under Ontario Regulation 391/21, direct the General Manager, Solid Waste Management Services to remove from the waste calendar any references to recycling material collection from eligible sources.

4. City Council authorize the General Manager, Solid Waste Management Services to negotiate an agreement with the Common Collection System Administrator for the City to be a service provider on a new operational model for collecting public space recycling, inclusive of each term and condition stated below and on other terms and conditions acceptable to the General Manager, Solid Waste Management Services, and are in a form satisfactory to the City Solicitor, and to report back to City Council with a draft of the final agreement prior to execution: no financial penalty for contamination; receive at a minimum full cost recovery; Blue Box Materials must go through the City's transfer station network; and the City must provide both City parks and street recycle bin collection.

5. City Council authorize the General Manager, Solid Waste Management Services to negotiate and execute an agreement with Common Collection System Administrator, for the City of Toronto to sell City parks recycling bin assets, based on terms and conditions stated below and on other terms acceptable to the General Manager, Solid Waste Management Services, and in a form satisfactory to the City Solicitor: negotiations for the sale of City-owned parks recycling bins will only proceed if a public space collection service provider agreement cannot be successfully negotiated, bins must be branded or stickered at the expense of the Common Collection System Administrator.

6. City Council direct the General Manager, Solid Waste Management Services to:

a. Distribute the 2026 waste collection schedules through a full standalone mailing in the fourth quarter of 2025; and

b. Report to City Council, through the 2026 budget process, on any further recommendations for the distribution of waste collection schedules.

7. City Council authorize the General Manager, Solid Waste Management Services, to increase Solid Waste Management Services staff complement by four (4) positions, to create a Customer Care team to support collection operations with customer care needs following the transition of the Blue Box program to Extended Producer Responsibility.

The purpose of this staff report is to provide City Council with an update on Solid Waste Management Services' preparation for the Post-Transition Phase (2026 and beyond) of the Blue Box Program's transition to Extended Producer Responsibility. Specifically, this report provides an overview of the following: the recommended utilization of the City's transfer stations post-2025; post-transition operational planning discussions with Circular Materials; public space recycling update, system optimization changes to maintain collection efficiency; and recent advocacy activities.

In addition, as directed by City Council, this report provides an update on the communication plan to inform residents of service provision changes in advance of the Post-Transition Phase.