Producers will soon be fully responsible for the cost of recycling in Ontario.
The provincial government says it will transition those costs from municipalities beginning in 2023.
Andrea Khanjin (can-JIN), the Minister of Environment’s Parliamentary Assistant, it’s something the municipalities wanted
“Municipalities have been asking for this for quite some time because for them it means the cost-saving of anywhere between 125-to-175 million per year,” says Khanjin.
Khanjin says the move with phased-in to avoid disruption of existing contracts municipalities may have.
“The municipalities might have contracts that they had signed on to for recycling delivery and so now just rethinking how those work to the benefit to Ontarians when they go to their blue bin so that it’s no disrupted and for the budgeting of that municipality.”
Khanjin also sees the move as helping to increase recycling and getting more items into the blue boxes currently not collected at curbside.
“Amongst municipalities, there is no standardization of what can and can’t go into the blue box. While some accept certain plastic materials, other municipalities won’t. So this will help us increase the types of materials that go into the blue box.”
