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3.
LCBO DEPOSIT RETURN PROGRAM AND CITY’S BLUE BOX RECYCLING PROGRAM PROGRAMME DE
CONSIGNATION DE L’ONTARIO ET PROGRAMME DE RECYCLAGE |
Committee recommendationS
1. That Council receive this report for information.
2. That Council instruct the City Clerk to
write to the Minister of the Environment and Waste Diversion Ontario
seeking an amendment to the Recycling
and Composting of Municipal Waste Regulation 101/94 to specify that
beverage containers available for return within Provincial Deposit Return
programs not be required for collection within the Blue Box recycling program.
Recommandations du Comité
1.
Que le Conseil prenne connaissance du présent rapport.
2. Que le Conseil enjoigne le greffier de la Ville d’écrire au
ministre de l’Environnement et à Réacheminement des déchets Ontario afin de
demander une modification au Recycling and Composting of Municipal Waste
Regulation 101/94 afin de préciser que les contenants de boisson consignés
dans le cadre du Programme de consignation provincial ne sont plus ramassés par
le biais du Programme de recyclage avec les boîtes bleues.
Documentation
1.
Deputy
City Manager's report Public
Works and Services
dated 13 March 2007 (ACS2007-PWS-UTL-0004).
Report
to/Rapport au:
Comité de l’urbanisme et de l’environnement
and Council / et au Conseil
Submitted by/Soumis par : R.G. Hewitt
Deputy City Manager / Directeur
municipal adjoint
Public Works and Services / Services
et Travaux publics
Utility Services Branch / Services publics
(613) 580-2424, 22609, ken.brothers@ottawa.ca
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SUBJECT: |
LCBO
DEPOSIT RETURN PROGRAM and CITY’s BLUe BOX RECYCLING PROGRAM |
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OBJET : |
PROGRAMME
DE CONSIGNATION DE L’oNTARIO ET PROGRAMME de recyclage avec lES BOÎTES BLEUES
DE LA VILLE |
1. That the Planning and Environment Committee recommend Council receive this report for information.
2. That
the Planning and Environment Committee recommend Council instruct the City
Clerk to write to the Minister of the Environment and Waste Diversion Ontario
seeking an amendment to the Recycling
and Composting of Municipal Waste Regulation 101/94 to specify that
beverage containers available for return within Provincial Deposit Return
programs not be required for collection within the Blue Box recycling program.
1. Que le Comité de
l’urbanisme et de l’environnement recommande au Conseil de prendre connaissance
du présent rapport.
2.
Que
le Comité de l’urbanisme et de l’environnement recommande au Conseil
d’enjoindre le greffier de la Ville d’écrire au ministre de l’Environnement et
à Réacheminement des déchets Ontario afin de demander une modification au Recycling
and Composting of Municipal Waste Regulation 101/94 afin de préciser que
les contenants de boisson consignés dans le cadre du Programme de consignation
provincial ne sont plus ramassés par le biais du Programme de recyclage avec
les boîtes bleues.
The Ontario Government, in conjunction with the Liquor Control Board of Ontario (LCBO), has implemented a system for all beer, wine and spirit containers being marketed under the auspices of the Liquour Control Act. This Program allows Ontario residents to return specified beverage containers greater than 100mL in size to the Beer Store for a refund of either $0.10 or $0.20 per container, depending on the size. The Provincial Deposit Return system started 5 February 2007. Initial focus of the return is to all Beer Store outlets, with other Deposit Return partners expected to participate in the future.
A memo was distributed to the
Mayor and Members of Council explaining that the Ontario Program would start on
5 February 2007 (ACS2007-PWS-UTL-0003-IPD). At
that time, it was noted that communication of this program change to residents
would be required with a corresponding amendment to the Solid Waste Management By-law.
The purpose of this
report is to outline the City’s support for the Provincial Deposit Return
Program, the potential impacts on the City’s recycling program, communication
efforts regarding the Program and the City’s Blue Box and to inform Council
that no changes to the Solid Waste Management By-law will be forthcoming.
The Ontario Deposit Return program ensures that specified beer, wine or spirit liquor beverage containers marketed in Ontario after 5 February 2007, will be eligible for a refund upon return to any partner designated by the Province. A complete list of products and partners is available at www.bagitback.ca. At present, the main partner for return is all Brewer’s Retail (The Beer Store) outlets in Ontario, although the return network is expected to expand in the future.
The deposit amount is $0.10 per container up to 630 mL in size or for aluminium or steel cans up to 1 L in size. Any container larger than these will be eligible for a $0.20 refund upon return. Further information on each regulated container is set out below:
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Column
1 |
Column
2 |
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Regulated
Container |
Deposit
($) |
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1. |
Glass
Containers less than or equal to 630 mL |
0.10 |
|
2. |
Glass
Containers over 630 mL |
0.20 |
|
3. |
Aluminium
or steel cans less than or equal to 1 L |
0.10 |
|
4. |
Aluminium
or steel cans over 1 L |
0.20 |
|
5. |
Tetra
Pak (polycoat) and Bag-in-a-Box less than or equal to 630 mL |
0.10 |
|
6. |
Tetra
Pak (polycoat) and Bag-in-a-Box over 630 mL |
0.20 |
|
7. |
Polyethylene
Terephthalate (PET) (plastic) containers less than or equal to 630 mL |
0.10 |
|
8. |
Polyethylene
Terephthalate (PET) (plastic) over 630 mL |
0.20 |
Beer and wine bottles sold or supplied by beer and wine-making “brew your own” business establishments do not have the associated deposit placed on these containers and therefore will not be eligible for a deposit refund through the Provincial Program.
Environmentally, the Provincial Deposit Return Program is a clear winner over the municipal Blue Box recycling program due to the fact that over 90% of the glass can be either reused or recycled into other glass products, with the system. Ottawa’s Blue Box Program recycles about 7.5% (775 tonnes) into other glass products while the remaining 9,300 tonnes is used as aggregate for road beds. Ontario’s program will collect intact containers, which are colour sorted on return, thereby making them more desirable to glass re-use and recycling markets.
In 2005, the City of Ottawa’s split stream recycling program marketed 16,003 tonnes of Blue Box materials and 50,307 tonnes of Black Box (fibre materials) for a total of 66,310 tonnes of recyclable materials. Approximately 63% (10,075 tonnes) of the container stream in the Blue Box Program is composed of glass bottles and jars. Based on the City’s 2005 waste characterization study, 67% (6,757 tonnes) of that Blue Box glass originated from the LCBO.
This LCBO program is expected to achieve much higher capture rates (after a ramp up period) than municipal Blue Box Programs. The average Blue Box capture rate of LCBO containers in Ontario was 68% in 2005. By comparison, British Columbia captures 91% of wine and spirit bottles, Alberta 89%, and Nova Scotia 86%, through deposit return systems. Ontario’s Beer Store captures 98% of its beer bottle containers due to the financial incentive of deposits on the return of its empty containers.
Public Works and Services are in full support of the Ontario Deposit Return Program, as a product stewardship initiative. The City expects and encourages full participation from Ottawa residents to eliminate empty beer, wine and spirit containers from the Blue Box Program.
Communications to City residents
At the launch of the program, February 5, 2007, the LCBO undertook a comprehensive public education and awareness campaign, consisting of television and radio ads, newspaper ads, a community newspaper article, an information brochure distributed at the LCBO and Beer Stores and a new web site www.bagitback.ca.
The City of Ottawa is supplementing the above public outreach through the Rethink Garbage campaign to ensure consistency in messaging, co-ordinated delivery and overall continuity with the delivery of City’s waste management and recycling initiatives. Deposit Return Program information has been distributed to residents in their Blue Boxes. This information will also be included on ottawa.ca/rethinkgarbage, in the 2007 Waste Collection Calendar and its media materials, as well as in the 2007 Take-it-Back! Directory, community newspaper articles and advertising through the Rethink Garbage campaign.
Impact of the Provincial Deposit Return Program on the City’s Blue Box Program
Solid Waste Services staff has been monitoring the amount of glass collected in the Blue Box recycling program since the commencement of Ontario’s Deposit Return Program. Based on collected tonnages, the City has seen 25% decrease in glass materials, as compared to the same time period last year. A comprehensive waste audit has not been performed.
In 2006, the LCBO contributed $476,000 annually to the City of Ottawa recycling program through Waste Diversion Ontario’s cost-sharing program. However, the 2006 net cost to manage this material in the Blue Box Program was $1.8M. For 2007 and 2008, the LCBO will contribute $5M annually to municipalities across Ontario to assist in the cost of managing its materials within Blue Box recycling programs.
The removal of LCBO glass from the Blue Box Program was anticipated by Solid Waste Services and included as a price option in the latest collection contracts. Staff will be negotiating changes to the existing processing/separation contract to reflect the reduction in materials in the Blue Box. Overall, the City projects a 2007 budget savings of $640,000 from the reduction of LCBO glass from the Blue Box Program.
The Legal Services Branch has completed a review of the City’s ability to prohibit collection of blue box materials for which there is a Deposit Return Program in place. It is their opinion that Ontario Regulation 101/94, made under the Environmental Protection Act, continues to require the City to collect, accept, transport and process a broad spectrum of beverage containers, including containers captured as part of the Deposit Return Program. For this reason, at this time, the City cannot prohibit the placement of such containers in its Blue Boxes and as such, the Solid Waste management by-law will not be amended at this time.
Public Works and Services recommends that the City write the Minister of the Environment and Waste Diversion Ontario and ask for Regulation 101/94 to be amended in order to prohibit the collection of beverage containers for which there are existing Provincial Deposit Return Programs in place. This would ensure that Ontario residents do not receive conflicting messages about the best ways to manage such recyclable materials and continue to support the successful implementation of the Deposit Return Program.
Ontario’s Deposit Return Program is expected to result in a beverage container capture rate of 85%, as well as an energy savings of 65% from the reuse and recycling of glass rather than the current market of this glass as aggregate. For every 10% increase in the use of recycled glass in the manufacturing process, there will be a 20% reduction in carbon dioxide emitted to the atmosphere, and a 6% reduction in nitrous oxides emitted to the atmosphere, and 40% less residual going to landfill from small particles of glass too small to sort in an material recycling facility.
All City of Ottawa residents who purchase specified beverage containers are eligible to participate in returning their empty containers to designated partners to receive a return per container under the Provincial Deposit Return Program.
An Information Previously Distributed (IPD)
memo was distributed to Planning and Environment Committee on 29 January
2007. A follow-up memorandum to Council
enclosing the flyer to be distributed within the City’s Blue Boxes was provided
the week of 12 March.
Based on an average 75% participation rate for approximately 85% of the year in 2007, the City has estimated 2007 net savings of $640,000. These savings have been incorporated in the 2007 Operating Budget recently approved by Council. Depending on the residents’ participation in the Deposit Return Program, additional savings may be realized in 2008 and beyond.