After January 1 the trucks that pick up our recycling on Thursdays will no longer grab any cardboard or other material put out by businesses, stores and offices.
The change is part of the Ford government's move to privatize the recycling business by shifting it from the municipalities that developed the system to firms that produce the packaging that gets recycled.
The glitch in the system is that the province has ordered the companies to handle residential recycled material but not told them to handle anything produced by businesses. This is leaving municipalities, like Northumberland County, unsure of what will happen to the cardboard and plastic that those firms produce.
“Northumberland County transitioned on January 1, 2024,” it says on its website. “However, residents will not likely have noted much change, because - in December of 2023, Northumberland County announced the successful negotiation of a contract with Circular Materials Ontario to continue managing local recycling collection until the end of 2025.”
Circular Materials Ontario has been charging the municipality for the recycling service for the past two years, but it and other private recyclers “have decided to end small business collection once the blue box system has fully transitioned in 2026,” says a posting on the Environmental Registry of Ontario outlining proposed changes.
“Municipalities have told us that arranging separate collection for these limited locations, when residential blue box trucks travel the same routes, is neither environmentally nor financially reasonable, and is not affordable for many communities,” the posting says.
The government has told the private companies to negotiate with the municipalities. I’ve asked the province for an update on how those talks might be going and what it plans to do since the Jan. 1 deadline is approaching. I haven’t received a response.
The county says it is looking for ways to continue service for small businesses.
“Northumberland County council is supportive of continuing recycling collection services for existing (industrial, commercial and institutional) locations after 2026,” says Kate Campbell, the county’s Director of Communications and IT. “Staff are exploring options for the most efficient, cost-effective method to deliver this service.”
“The minister’s expectation is that the plan should be in place as soon as possible to ensure there is no disruption in service for these locations upon full implementation in 2026,” according to a letter sent from the Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks to the City of Ottawa, says a Toronto Star story.
The county is engaged in a tough look at all its spending as it prepares its budget for 2026. It has a special meeting scheduled for Monday, Sept. 29 to identify areas to cut. This means there will be little room for unplanned spending on business recycling.
You can read all Trent Hills News stories on my website here.
Producer responsibility, eh? I'm absolutely certain that the folks at "Shanghai Fluffy Toy Company Limited", et. al. will be more than happy to pick up the additional costs...
Going back about twenty five years ago, the Municipality of Campbellford had a half ton truck and one employee picking up cardboard and they had a bailing machine. One of our larger stores owners at the time said to me why give it to the Municipality when I believe he told me an outfit in Stirling purchased it. I was on council at the time and questioned the Town foreman as it was not making money. His answer was it gives a person a job. It was discontinued, don,t know what happened to the bailer or the bales.