The regulatory framework
affecting waste management is complex and multi-jurisdictional. Waste and waste
diversion is controlled by regulations from all three levels of government,
however waste management is primarily regulated at the provincial level.
Government of
Canada
The federal government
deals with the larger scale issues, which are more national in scope.
Environment Canada has regulations in place that mandate which substances and
components can and cannot be used in products. It, in partnership with
Transport Canada, also has the responsibility of monitoring and dictating how
wastes are transported between provincial and national borders. The relevant
federal legislation pertaining to waste management at the federal level
includes:
·
Canadian
Environmental Protection Act;
·
Transportation
of Dangerous Goods Act; and
·
Canadian
Environmental Assessment Act.
Province of Ontario
The provincial
government develops, implements and maintains a regulatory framework for the
management of hazardous and non-hazardous waste, including requirements to
minimise waste by reducing, reusing, recycling, composting and recovering
resources. It achieves this through regulating and controlling the collection,
transfer, processing, and disposal. It issues approvals to waste disposal sites
and waste haulers to ensure appropriate management; and undertakes inspections
and enforcement activities. It also sets out the mandatory requirements for
municipalities regarding the provision of waste management services.
The province does not
track the amount of waste generated in the province, where or how it is
processed, or plan for its long-term management. Rather, it focuses its efforts on the review,
approval, and monitoring of all waste facilities; on regulating source
separation amongst large-scale generators; and on designing systems to deal
with problematic wastes (e.g. tires and waste electronics).
Members of the IC&I
sector are individually responsible for complying with waste related
regulations and their compliance is determined by their size. The recent
introduction of stewardship and/or extended producer responsibility (EPR)
regulations has extended the traditional responsibilities of many IC&I
businesses. IC&I businesses that are producers of product and/or packaging
are increasingly mandated to take physical and/or financial responsibility for
the wastes that their products and or packaging create. (Source RCO website
September 2011)
The Environmental
Protection Act, the Waste Diversion Act and their associated Regulations are
the primary legislative instruments governing the management of waste in
Ontario, with the Environmental Assessment Act and Planning Act also playing a
role in the waste management. Relevant regulations under the Environmental
Protection Act include:
·
Ontario
Regulation 101/94 (Recycling and Composting of Municipal Waste);
·
Ontario Regulation 102/94 (Waste Audits and
Waste Reduction Work Plans);
·
Ontario Regulation 103/94 (Industrial,
Commercial and Institutional Source Separation Program);
·
Ontario Regulation 104/94 (Packaging Audits
and Packaging Reduction); and
·
Ontario Regulation 347 (General— Waste
Management).
Waste Diversion Act
Ontario's Waste
Diversion Act was passed in 2002 to promote reducing, reusing
and recycling waste. Under the Act,
certain wastes are considered designated waste materials for which diversion
programs are required, with programs currently in place for:
·
Blue and Black Box materials;
·
Used tires;
·
Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment
(WEEE); and
·
Municipal hazardous or special waste.
The primary emphasis is
on diversion programs under the Act. Other activities include regulatory
initiatives, such as the 3Rs Regulation and exemptions under Regulation 347
(general waste regulation) intended to recognize and promote diversion
activities. The 3Rs Regulations are designed to ensure that the Industrial,
Commercial and Institutional (IC&I) sector, as well as municipalities,
develop programs to reduce the amount of valuable resources going to disposal.
The Act also details the enforcement provisions and penalties for
non-compliance.
Blue Box Wastes were
designated under the Waste Diversion Act by regulation O. Reg. 273/02 on
September 23, 2002. The regulation defines Blue Box Wastes as any of the
following materials, or any combination of glass, metal, paper, plastic and
textile.
Proposed changes to Ontario’s Waste Diversion Act
Management of waste in the province and the roles and
responsibilities of municipalities could change significantly if proposed
changes to the Waste Diversion Act are adopted.
However, the Minister’s Report on the Waste Diversion Act 2002 Review [1]
acknowledges that such changes will not occur in a short period of time, and
recognizes the “long history of shared responsibility” and the need “to ensure
minimal disruption of services so that desired diversion objectives continue to
be achieved.”
Responsibility for a
healthy transition will rest as much with municipalities as it will with
individual waste producers and collective management schemes. Accordingly, there is a window of opportunity
for municipalities like Ottawa to prepare for and take a lead in directing how
those changes may be implemented in their jurisdictions.
To this end,
consideration must be given to how materials may be recovered not just from the
residential waste stream, but also the IC&I sector as the province proposes
to start “with materials with known markets (e.g. blue box materials in
IC&I sectors.)” With larger volumes
of materials being recovered, structural and behavioural barriers to the
recovery of some residentially-generated materials may be reduced, and
opportunities for streamlined collection and processing may result.
Furthermore, the City
must consider how increased diversion may affect vehicular traffic, on-site
storage requirements, and residuals management in the city.
In 2007, the province
issued a draft Policy Statement on Waste Management Planning that provides
guidelines for developing a Municipal Waste Management Plan. This policy
proposal is currently on hold.
Municipal
Governments
Although residential
waste management and recycling services are mandated by the provincial
government, they are carried out by local municipalities and include the
collection, transfer, diversion, and disposal of residential waste. In carrying
out these responsibilities, municipal governments must ensure that there is
sufficient long term capacity to process and dispose of residential waste,
which can include the siting or contracting of landfills or other disposal
capacity as well as development and operation of recycling, composting and
other diversion programs.
The City has developed
the following key documents that guide the planning and management of waste,
including:
|
·
City of Ottawa Act ·
Official Plan ·
Term of Council Strategic Priorities
2011-2014 |
·
Choosing Our Future ·
Environmental Strategy ·
Solid Waste By-law |