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Archive for Dan Lantz

Key decisions looming on Canada’s Blue Box EPR programs

North America’s first full producer responsibility EPR program for the Blue Box has been running for over a year now in British Columbia, with positive results. Will Ontario and the other provinces follow suit? Will they have the political wherewithal to effectively address the key issues of free-riders and producer control?

The paper industry has a major interest in these matters. Some 75% of the material collected in Canada’s Blue Box systems is paper of one kind or another, most of it used again and again as feedstock to produce new printed paper or packaging. Paper products provide more than half of all Blue Box revenues.

But the Blue Box is only part of the story. Canada’s recycling mills rely far more on the collection of old corrugated boxes from the back of factories and supermarkets, and on the used printing and writing paper collected from offices. The infrastructure to recycle this material has existed for years.

This is why it is so important that the provincial politicians who make decisions on who controls the Blue Box, make them based on overall need, not just on what municipalities say they want or are lobbying for. There are economies of scale to be achieved by better coordinating the location and capacities of all transfer stations and material recycling facilities (MRFs) in a province, whether they cater to industrial, commercial and institutional recycling or to what comes out of people’s homes. Too many MRFs, with all the same bells and whistles, is a recipe for financial disaster.

PPEC’s upcoming seminar on October 28th couldn’t be better timed. The speakers include:

GlenMurrayGlen Murray, Ontario’s Minister of Environment and Climate Change. The minister has promised to introduce new waste reduction and resource recovery legislation to Ontario. This will impact all waste streams and recycling in the province. Here’s your chance to hear the minister explain, in person, the major thrust and intentions of the new legislation.

 


DLPicDan Lantz
, COO of Green by Nature EPR, which processes the residential materials from all of BC’s recycling programs. How is North America’s first full producer responsibility program working? What can we learn from it? Do we want it to be applied in other provinces? What are the implications for the paper, glass, plastic and metal industries?


RobertChantBob Chant
, VP Corporate Affairs and Communication at Loblaw, who represents Canada’s major grocery retailer on several producer-related bodies, including the industry funding organisation for Ontario’s Blue Box program, Stewardship Ontario, and its parent, the Canadian Stewardship Services Alliance (CSSA). What’s the retailer perspective on EPR in Canada? How are they handling the conflicting demands and range of programs across the country? What do they see as the key decisions to be made going forward? What are the implications for the material sectors?

DennisColleyThe seminar will be rounded out by an American perspective from Dennis Colley, President of the Fibre Box Association, representing the US corrugated box industry. What is the status of the EPR debate in the US, and what are the implications for the paper industry there?

 

For more details on this timely seminar, click here.

To register for this event please click here.

Friends of PPEC, you are invited!

It’s party time! The industry’s environmental council turns 25 this year and wants to let its hair down (what’s left of it!). The plan is to both celebrate the past and to look forward to the future, while having a good time.PPEC turns 25

The Big Event takes place on October 28 in Mississauga, Ontario and registration is now open. An afternoon seminar will focus on current and future challenges and opportunities, including the implications of Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) schemes for the paper industry as a whole.

Confirmed speakers to date include Dan Lantz of Green by Nature and Dennis Colley of the US-based Fibre Box Association. Invited speakers include EPR consultant Glenda Gies, retailer Bob Chant (Loblaw) and Ontario’s Minister of Environment and Climate Change, Glen Murray. Canada is at a real crossroads regarding EPR.

The 25th Anniversary Dinner will follow a reception and entertainment. PPEC will launch its campaign for “best short historical documentary” to be shown at the Toronto International Film Festival next year, and some old folks (and some not-so-old folks) will no doubt talk about PPEC past and present.

Over 25 years the council has made many friends in many walks of life: politicians, civil servants, fellow industry colleagues, environmentalists, educationists, you know who you are. We’ve lost touch with some of you, and you have moved on to other endeavours, but we’d love to get back together to catch up. Life is too short, and 25th anniversaries don’t come around very often. So if you are interested please take advantage of this opportunity and register now!  We’d love to see you.