I love fish. Plastic not so much. This puts me in good company, it seems, with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who recently told the World Economic Forum that the “plastics issue” will be the main theme at the G7 leaders’ summit in Charlevoix, Quebec in June. Trudeau’s announcement follows in the footsteps of Coca-Cola saying […]
Will plastics problem spur the eventual return of deposits to Ontario? Read More »
Recycled content is central to the “Circular Economy” approach that Ontario and some other provinces say they want to adopt. It keeps raw materials flowing through the economy longer, reduces the pressure to extract more virgin materials from the earth, and delays their eventual disposal as waste. It’s something which governments say they want to
Packaging stewards should be rewarded for using recycled content Read More »
The reported recovery rate of Ontario’s residential Blue Box system has fallen to its lowest level since 2005. The draft recovery rates, to be finalised by Stewardship Ontario in December, show a 2016 recovery rate of 62.4%, down 2% on the previous year. This will make the recent “request” by Ontario’s minister of environment and
Ontario Blue Box recovery rate slips, but paper steady Read More »
The Ontario Ministry of Environment and Climate Change (MOECC) is in the process of considering what it calls specific material “management” targets for Ontario Blue Box recyclables such as paper, plastic, glass, steel and aluminum. It has already stated that it wants to see a collective 75% Blue Box diversion rate, up from the current
Recycled content must be recognised in setting circular economy targets Read More »
When Ontario released the final version of its waste strategy six months ago, dealing with the future financing of the province’s popular Blue Box program was at the backend of the queue. Sorting out the respective roles and responsibilities of municipalities and industry, not to mention the thorny issues of legal contracts and stranded assets,
The big “hurry up” on the Blue Box in case the Liberals lose Read More »
The people of Prince Edward Island and British Columbia are the “best recyclers” in Canada and “Newfies” and Manitobans the worst, according to PPEC’s analysis of the latest data from Statistics Canada. The average Canadian recycles 255 kilograms of stuff a year, the equivalent of about 11 heavy suitcases. The data covers the industrial, commercial, and
Prince Edward Islanders and British Columbians are Canada’s “best recyclers” Read More »
Claims for 100% recyclable and 100% compostable seem to be proliferating. Are they accurate? Are they legal? Or are they just another form of greenwash? It’s not surprising that North American consumers are confused. Because in common speech, the words “recyclable” and “compostable” can mean three different things: technically recyclable or compostable, meaning that the
Nothing is 100% recyclable or 100% compostable Read More »
Every Tuesday night I come face-to-face with the twin issues of consumption and “sustainable materials management” or the latest buzzword favoured by governments, the “circular economy.” For Tuesday night is Recycling Night. From the bathroom and bedroom, I gather toilet rolls and tissue, envelopes and writing paper. From the kitchen and dining room, I grab
Paper, paper, everywhere, and not a scrap to waste Read More »
The good news is that the reported recovery rates for almost every single material category in Ontario’s Blue Box have improved over the last 13 years, some by as much as 20 percentage points. The bad news is that several categories have made very little progress and lag way behind the others, and that the
The good, the bad, and the ugly about Ontario’s Blue Box Read More »
When you crunch the numbers on Canada’s various provincial Blue Box systems, one fact stands out more than any other. The Blue Box is basically a Paper Box, part of a larger feeder supply network for Canadian and other paper recycling mills. Paper’s overwhelming dominance is more obvious, of course, in the many “deposit” provinces
Over 75% of what the Blue Box collects is paper, and it has the highest recovery rates Read More »
