Item - 2025.IE25.1

The Infrastructure and Environment Committee recommends that:

1. City Council direct the Executive Director, Environment, Climate and Forestry, with the support from the applicable City Divisions, to implement the Circular Economy Road Map and 3-Year Circular Economy Road Map Implementation Plan, as presented in Attachment 1 and 2, respectively, to the report (October 15) from the Executive Director, Environment, Climate and Forestry, and the General Manager, Solid Waste Management Services.

2. City Council authorize the Executive Director, Environment, Climate and Forestry, or their designate, until December 31, 2036, to negotiate, enter into, and execute non-procurement agreements, as may be required, to support the implementation of the Circular Economy Road Map and the 3-Year Circular Economy Road Map Implementation Plan, as presented in Attachments 1 and 2, respectively, to the report (October 15, 2025) from the Executive Director, Environment, Climate and Forestry, and the General Manager, Solid Waste Management Services, with the non-profit, private, and public sectors to:

a. Collaborate on research, projects, forums, or initiatives;

b. Provide in-kind and / or financial support from the approved Environment, Climate and Forestry budget and that is within the Executive Director, Environment, Climate and Forestry financial authority;

c. Data sharing; and / or;

d. Accept funding and / or in-kind support,

with each non-procurement agreement being on such terms and conditions acceptable to the Executive Director, Environment, Climate and Forestry, and each being in a form satisfactory to the City Solicitor.

3. City Council direct the Executive Director, Environment, Climate and Forestry, in consultation with the General Manager, Solid Waste Management Services, to report back in 2029 on implementation of the Circular Economy Road Map and provide an updated implementation plan for the years 2029 to 2031.

4. City Council authorize the implementation of a second intake period for Phase One of the Circular Food Innovators Fund, for which the initial intake period was adopted by Council as a part of 2023.IE9.3 (November 15, 2023), by Environment, Climate and Forestry, substantially in accordance with the Updated Framework for Phase One of the City of Toronto's Circular Food Innovators Fund in Attachment 4 to the report (October 15, 2025) from the Executive Director, Environment, Climate and Forestry, and the General Manager, Solid Waste Management Services.

5. City Council authorize the Executive Director, Environment, Climate and Forestry, or designate, until December 31, 2026, to execute and enter into agreements with successful recipients to receive funds, distributed under a second intake period for Phase One of the Circular Food Innovators Fund outlined in Attachment 4 to the report (October 15, 2025) from the Executive Director, Environment, Climate and Forestry, and the General Manager, Solid Waste Management Services, each with terms and conditions acceptable to the Executive Director, Environment, Climate and Forestry, or designate, and each in a form acceptable to the City Solicitor.

6. City Council request Executive Director, Environment, Climate and Forestry, to work with the Executive Director, Social Development, Finance and Administration, to plan and execute community-based and community-led programs related to the 1 to 3 year implementation of the 10-Year Circular Economy Road Map.

7. City Council request that the Executive Director, Environment, Climate and Forestry, in consultation with other relevant divisions, consider developing a public reference list of companies providing deconstruction services in conjunction with the feasibility assessment of a reuse hub for construction materials.

The Executive Director, Environment, Climate and Forestry, gave a presentation on 10-Year Circular Economy Road Map.

The Infrastructure and Environment Committee:

1. Requested the Executive Director, Environment, Climate and Forestry, to submit a supplementary report on item IE25.1 directly to the November 12, 13, and 14, 2025 meeting of City Council addressing the recommendations of the Circular Innovation Council.

As the largest city in Canada, the people and businesses of Toronto are significant consumers of materials and goods, a majority of which end up in landfills that are quickly approaching capacity. A circular economy refers to a society-wide approach to production and consumption that aims to eliminate landfill waste and maximize resources by recovering as much as possible from used products. Transitioning to a circular economy not only supports sustainability, but also sparks innovation, creates jobs, addresses climate change and reduces costs related to waste management.

The City has been working on its circular economy transition since Council set an aspirational goal in 2016 to work towards zero waste and to make Toronto the first municipality in the province of Ontario with a circular economy. Building on this work, the City has developed its first "Circular Economy Road Map" (the Road Map) (Attachment 1).  

The Road Map was shaped by valuable input from residents, Indigenous people, industry and peer cities around the world, including London (UK), Glasgow, Rotterdam and members of the Canadian Circular Cities and Regions Initiative. It sets out a vision for Toronto’s circular economy transition over the next 10 years through five Strategic Directions and 15 Actions to support waste reduction and sustainable consumption in Toronto, with a focus on addressing wider consumption behaviours that generate waste. Through the Road Map, the City will deliver incentives, supports and programs for residents and businesses that make circular solutions easy and accessible. It will also lead by example by embedding circular practices into its own operations, while also identifying and addressing barriers to create an enabling environment for businesses and community to pursue their own circular innovations.

The Road Map will be implemented by multiple City Divisions using a whole-of-city approach (see Attachment 2 for the City's 3-Year Circular Economy Road Map Implementation Plan). City staff have identified key initiatives to prioritize beginning in 2026, which include communicating the benefits of circularity, establishing forums to hear from circular businesses, identify barriers and co-develop solutions and determining whether existing resources and programs, such as the Green Market Acceleration Program, could be used to support circularity. Additionally, the City will assess the feasibility of a reuse hub to stimulate a secondary market for construction materials and is seeking Council authority to implement a second intake period of the Circular Food Innovators Fund, a grant program that supports businesses in implementing reuse systems that eliminate single-use and takeaway items.  

Implementing the Road Map is expected to further strengthen Toronto’s leadership profile and position the City among the global peer cities that are advancing the transition to a circular economy. Furthermore, the Road Map actions support the City in adapting to trade uncertainties and affordability concerns, with the circular economy offering a framework for enabling supply chains and businesses to become more resilient by decoupling operations from the extraction of natural resources, increasing material security and reducing exposure to price volatility.[1], [2] Beyond supply chain considerations, circular solutions offer a pathway to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions that cannot be addressed by the renewable energy transition alone, including global greenhouse gases attributed to the production of materials, products, food and land management.[3] A transition to circular business models offers an opportunity for circular jobs and skills building,[4] innovation and new business partnerships and creates the pathways for residents to consume more sustainably and make the most out of the things they purchase through strategies like reuse and repair.

City staff will provide regular progress updates to City Council on the implementation of the Road Map. The first update will be delivered in 2029, following the initial three years of implementation (2026 - 2028).

[1] Rajaonson, Juste. (April, 2025). A stronger Canadian economy starts with a circular economy in cities and regions. Policy Options. https://policyoptions.irpp.org/2025/04/circular-economy/
[2] Jensen, Henrik Hvid. (February, 2024). How the circular economy secures manufacturing supply chains. World Economic Forum. https://www.weforum.org/stories/2024/02/how-manufacturers-could-lead-the-way-in-building-the-circular-economy
[3] Canadian Climate Institute. (March, 2023). How circularity can contribute to emissions reductions in Canada. https://climateinstitute.ca/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/how-circularity-can-contribute-emissions-reductions-canada.pdf
[4] Circular Economy, Solutions for Youth Employment, and International Labour Organization. (May, 2023). Decent work in the circular economy. https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/5d26d80e8836af2d12ed1269/6459fd6277ede78534464251_20230424%20-%20CJI%20-%20Decent%20work%20in%20the%20circular%20economy%20-%20210x297mm.pdf