The Environment and Public Space Committee recommends that:
(i) the recommendations embodied in the communication dated November 24, 1997, from Councillor Judy Sgro, North York - Humber, be adopted, subject to adding to the beginning of Recommendation No. (1) the words "in addition to the Council direction to staff of September 29, 1997, by the adoption of Clause No. 4 of Report No. 12 of The Environment and Public Space Committee, as amended,", so that such recommendations read as follows:
"(1) That in addition to the Council direction to staff of September 29, 1997, by the adoption of Clause No. 4 of Report No. 12 of The Environment and Public Space Committee, as amended, the Commissioner of Works develop a plan to mandate a deposit/return system being established for wine and spirit beverage containers sold in the new City of Toronto;
(2) that the Solicitor, in consultation with the Commissioner of Works, report on any legal remedies that may be used to help establish a deposit/return system for wine and spirit beverage containers sold in the new City of Toronto; and
(3) that the Commissioner of Works' and Solicitor's reports be presented to the appropriate Committee of the new City of Toronto Council at the first available opportunity";
(ii) the following recommendations be added thereto:
"(4) that the Commissioner of Works pursue this matter with his peers across the Province of Ontario; and
(5) that Councillor Joan King, as President-Elect of the Association of Municipalities of Ontario, be directed to pursue a Province-wide policy on wine and spirit containers as well as soft drink containers;" and
(iii) the report dated November 6, 1997, from the Commissioner of Works be received.
The Environment and Public Space Committee submits the following communication (November 24, 1997) from Councillor Judy Sgro, North York - Humber:
Recommendations:
(1) That the Commissioner of Works develop a plan to mandate a deposit/return system being established for wine and spirit beverage containers sold in the new City of Toronto;
(2) that the Solicitor, in consultation with the Commissioner of Works, report on any legal remedies that may be used to help establish a deposit/return system for wine and spirit beverage containers sold in the new City of Toronto; and
(3) that the Commissioner of Works' and Solicitor's reports be presented to the appropriate Committee of the new City of Toronto Council at the first available opportunity.
I regret that I cannot attend today's meeting, and would ask that you consider my concerns regarding this item and the recommendations that I make above.
Background:
The Commissioner of Works' report dated November 6, 1997, correctly identifies that the amendment by the Minister of Municipal Affairs which removed the right of municipalities to charge retailers for the municipal costs associated with consumer packaging is "unfortunate because the amendment eliminates a key leverage point that municipalities had in their current discussions with the consumer goods industry regarding product and packaging stewardship."
The course of action being suggested by the Commissioner of Works, to postpone the development of a plan until the Recycling Council of Ontario (RCO) concludes its Roles and Responsibilities process, does nothing to increase municipal leverage or to advance this Council's clearly stated objectives with respect to Blue Box funding.
Further delay simply plays into the hands of those who prefer the status quo and have no vested interest in seeing a successful resolution of the issue. If we wait to move ahead with our options and nothing comes of the RCO process, then municipalities will have to continue to underwrite the costs of recycling, litter and garbage collection unnecessarily.
Notwithstanding the RCO process, an opportunity exists to reduce Blue Box costs, help create jobs and preserve the environment through a proposal that would have the Liquor Control Board of Ontario (LCBO) implement a deposit/return system for containers sold through its stores so that more bottles can be recovered for refilling and recycling. Canadian Bottle Recyclers put this proposal before the provincial government last year, and have since received endorsements from over 80 Ontario municipalities representing nearly six million Ontarians in support of their plan.
Although it would be preferable for the Province of Ontario to require the LCBO to implement a deposit/return system for their containers, they have been reluctant to do so. With the Bill 26 option removed, we should try and find other means of pressuring the LCBO to introduce such a system so that we can remove the burden of processing coloured glass in the Blue Box program.
Resolution:
I would suggest, therefore, that we direct staff to develop a plan that would mandate the Province to implement a deposit/return by-law on wine and spirit beverage containers sold in the new City of Toronto. This meets our immediate objective of getting coloured glass out of the Blue Box program.
The development of such a plan also meets the broader objective of providing leverage for municipalities to secure funding from the manufacturers and users of packaging waste that is collected in the municipal waste stream. If municipalities can establish their authority to require retailers to take back excess packaging, the manufacturers and users of that packaging will be better motivated to find sustainable solutions to our waste management funding concerns.
Accordingly, I would ask that your Committee take leadership on this issue by adopting the recommendations that I have made.
The Environment and Public Space Committee also submits the following report (November 6, 1997) from the Commissioner of Works:
Purpose:
To report on the amendment to Ontario Regulation 26/96, relating to "Fees and Charges" by-laws, and its impact on product stewardship initiatives.
Recommendation:
It is recommended that development of a plan to implement a deposit/return system for refillable soft drink bottles as requested by Metropolitan Council await the release of the Recycling Council of Ontario’s recommendations on product stewardship to the Minister of Environment and Energy in April, 1998, in order that a position can be taken by the new City of Toronto Council.
Council Reference/Background/History:
At its meeting on September 8, 1997, the Environment and Public Space Committee received a report from the Metropolitan Solicitor dated September 3, 1997, which outlined the City of North York’s plans to charge service fees to retailers of wine and liquor bottles to offset the cost of municipal recycling and waste disposal by by-law passed under section 220.1 of the Municipal Act, and which discussed the potential outcomes of the North York initiative.
At its meeting on September 29, 1997, Metropolitan Council adopted, as amended by Council, Clause No. 4 of Report No. 12 of The Environment and Public Space Committee, which recommended that:
(1) the recommendation embodied in the report dated August 27, 1997, from the Commissioner of Works be amended to read as follows:
"It is recommended that, if the Recycling Council of Ontario product stewardship consultation process is not successful in obtaining industry funding commitments by October, 1997, then Metropolitan Officials develop a plan to require all establishments in Toronto to sell pop exclusively in refillable glass bottles within a deposit/return system and report thereon to the new City of Toronto Council at the first opportunity."; and
(2) the following be added thereto:
"It is further recommended that the Association of Municipalities of Ontario be requested to pursue the levying of fees for a deposit/return system for beverage containers and lobby the Provincial government in this regard."
On September 22, 1997, the Minister of Municipal Affairs announced an amendment to Regulation 26/96 which prohibits the imposition of fees or charges for the management (including collection, disposal, reuse and recycling) of any waste materials except on the person directly or by means of an agent who discards the material.
Comments and/or Discussion:
The recent amendment to Ontario Regulation 26/96 made under the Municipal Act effectively removes the possibility of municipalities charging municipal waste management costs associated with consumer goods and packaging back to retailers and/or producers.
The Ministry’s action is unfortunate because the amendment eliminates a key leverage point that municipalities had in their current discussions with the consumer goods industry regarding product and packaging stewardship.
The Recycling Council of Ontario (RCO) had initially intended to submit stewardship recommendations to the Minister of Environment and Energy by the end of October, 1997. However, the complexity of issues under discussion and the large number of stakeholders involved has led to a decision to extend the process until April, 1998. The six-month extension will allow for broad consultation with industries and municipalities, and in particular with newly elected municipal councils. The RCO’s letter to the Minister, outlining the progress made to date and the projected timetable for the next six months, is attached.
The RCO held a Public Forum in Toronto on October 16, 1997, to brief interested parties on the progress of the stewardship consultation process and obtain feedback. At the Public Forum, the Commissioner of Works for the City of Etobicoke presented a Proposed Interim Municipal Position on Product Stewardship endorsed by the Commissioners of Works of the Area Municipalities in Metro and the Metro Commissioner of Works (attached). The intent is to report the proposed position to the new City of Toronto Council for adoption in 1998. Works staff from other Ontario municipalities who were at the Public Forum are also intending to forward similar proposals to their respective councils.
With respect to Metropolitan Council’s resolution, it is recommended that any unilateral action by Metro to affect product stewardship be delayed until the new Council has had an opportunity to review the RCO’s stewardship recommendations. In the event that the RCO process does not result in a clear commitment by the consumer products industry to share the financial responsibility for municipal waste management costs associated with non-durable consumer products and packaging, staff would report on the possible options to shift financial responsibility from the municipality to the consumer products industry.
Conclusions:
The recent amendment to Ontario Regulation 26/96 prohibits municipalities from charging consumer product retailers and producers for the cost of managing post-consumption waste collected from residents. Meanwhile, the RCO’s product stewardship process has been extended by six months to April, 1998, to allow for broad consultation and review by new municipal councils. It is recommended that any unilateral action by Metro, such as developing plans with respect to deposit/return systems for refillable soft drink bottles, be delayed until the RCO’s final recommendations have been reviewed by the new City of Toronto Council and a position has been taken on such recommendations.
Contact Name and Telephone Number:
C.A. Pollock, Senior Manager - Waste Diversion and Planning,
Solid Waste Management Division, (416) 392-4715.
The Environment and Public Space Committee reports, for the information of Council, having also had before it during consideration of the foregoing matter the following communications:
(i) (October 8, 1997) from the Assistant City Clerk, City of Toronto, advising that the Council of the City of Toronto, at its meeting on September 22 and 23, 1997, gave consideration to Clause 97 of Report No. 11 of the City Services Committee, headed "Charging a Fee to Recover the Cost of Recycling and Garbage Collection of Alcoholic Beverage Containers and Other Non-Refundable Beverage Containers"; and further advising that City Council took the following action:
(1) requested that the Commissioner of City Works Services, in consultation with the Metro Commissioner of Works and other Area Municipality Works Commissioners, determine the full system costs for managing non-refundable alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverage containers in the municipal solid waste stream, including the costs associated with garbage and recyclable material collection, transfer, marketing, and disposal of non-recovered beverage containers, for the consideration of the Council of the new City of Toronto;
(2) endorsed, in principle, the action taken by North York City Council, supported the extension of the North York By-law to all beverage containers, and deferred passage of a by-law to impose recycling/disposal charges upon the retailers and producers of all beverage containers for the consideration of the new City of Toronto's Council in 1998, and, in the meantime, instructed the appropriate City staff to consult with staff of the other Area Municipalities and Metro with respect to determining the costs of collection and disposal and monitoring the operation of any municipal by-laws coming into force before the end of 1998; and
(3) directed that the action of City Council be circulated to all municipalities with a population greater that 50,000 for its endorsement;
(ii) (October 10, 1997) from the Assistant City Clerk, City of Toronto, forwarding a copy of Clause 62 of Report No. 23 of the Executive Committee, headed "Recycling/Disposal Charges By-law - Passage of Provincial Legislation", which was adopted by City of Toronto Council on October 6 and 7, 1997, wherein it is recommended that City staff be directed to make an application to the Environmental Commissioner of Ontario under section 61 of the Environmental Bill of Rights to request that the Minister of Environment and Energy amend the Environmental Protection Act or regulations to allow municipalities to impose service fees on the producers and retailers of packaging waste, on the basis that this would protect the environment by ensuring an appropriate level of funding for the municipal Blue Box and waste disposal program, and create an incentive for packaging waste producers and retailers to institute deposit/return systems or alternative full product stewardship programs which may result in a reduced or zero municipal cost; and that notice of its action be given to the other Area Municipalities and the Municipality of Metropolitan Toronto; and
(iii) (November 25, 1997) from Ms. Jan H. Westcott, Executive Director, Brewers of Ontario, forwarding the Executive Summary of the results of a public opinion survey prepared by Bradgate Research Group Inc. respecting beverage container environmental issues.
The following persons appeared before the Environment and Public Space Committee in connection with the foregoing matter:
- Mr. Joseph P. Hruska, Vice-President, Municipal Development, CSR: Corporations Supporting Recycling; and
- Mr. Arthur Potts, Principal, Municipal Affairs Consulting.
(A copy of each of the attachments referred to in the foregoing report has been forwarded to all Members of Council with the agenda for the Environment and Public Space Committee meeting of November 26, 1997, and a copy thereof is on file in the office of the Metropolitan Clerk.)
