STAFF REPORT
November 15, 1999
To: Works Committee
From: Barry H. Gutteridge, Commissioner, Works and Emergency Services
Subject: Pilot Wet/Dry Collection Project in Conjunction with the Mixed Waste Recycling and Organics Processing
Facility.
Purpose:
To respond to a request from the Works Committee to report on a proposal for a pilot wet/dry collection project in
conjunction with the Mixed Waste Recycling and Organics Processing Facility.
Financial Implications and Impact Statement:
There are no financial implications arising from this report.
Recommendations:
It is recommended that this report be received for information.
Background:
At its meeting of July 14, 1999, the Works Committee had before it a report entitled "Toronto's Integrated Solid Waste
Resource Management Process Request for Expressions of Interest - Results of Application of Evaluation Criteria." One of
the motions made by the committee was to request the Commissioner of Works and Emergency Services to report back
with "a proposal for a pilot wet/dry collection project in conjunction with the demonstration composter/mixed waste
processing plant."
Comments:
The Mixed Waste Recycling and Organics Processing Facility which is being constructed at the Dufferin Transfer Station
is scheduled to be operational by the Summer/Fall 2000. The facility is designed to process a mixed waste stream, the wet
stream of a wet/dry system or a source separated organics stream. We plan to operate the facility on a mixed waste stream
initially, since this presents the most challenges in terms of material recovery.
The material for the mixed waste test may be sourced from apartment buildings and commercial locations. The test will
occur in conjunction with the existing Blue Box program. Thus, the mixed waste will be made up of items that end up in
the garbage after recycling, including recyclable material that is not put into the Blue Box. Participants would be setting out
recyclables and waste. Only the waste portion would be collected for processing at the Mixed Waste Recycling and
Organics Processing Facility. The Blue Box materials would be collected as usual and delivered to a Material Recovery
Facility (MRF) for processing. Once the testing of the mixed waste operational mode is complete we plan to test both
source separated organics and wet stream processing.
The material for the source separated organics waste test may be sourced from single family households and commercial
locations. This would involve a three-stream collection where residents and/or businesses separate their organic waste from
other waste and recylables. Thus, participants would be setting out recyclables, organic materials and any remaining waste.
Only the organic waste component would be processed at the Mixed Waste Recycling and Organics Processing Facility.
The Blue Box material and regular garbage would be collected and processed as usual.
We are also planning on implementing a wet/dry pilot involving single-family households. A wet/dry system is a
two-stream system, which is an alternative system to the Blue Box program. Waste is sorted into two categories: wet and
dry. The wet waste component would include items such as kitchen, bathroom and other wastes which can be composted,
including heavily soiled or dirty items. This includes food scraps, dirty tissues, houseplants, sanitary items and diapers.
The dry waste would include items such as: recyclables and non-recyclables like metal cans, glass bottles, plastics, paper,
broken dishes, toothpaste tubes, chip bags and furnace filters. Dry wastes are processed to recover recyclables.
The wet waste component would be processed at the Mixed Waste Recycling and Organics Processing Facility. However,
the facility is not set up for processing the dry stream and alternate arrangements would have to be made, such as shipping
the material to Guelph for processing at their wet/dry facility.
Conclusions:
The Mixed Waste Recycling and Organics Processing facility is designed to process a mixed waste stream, a source
separated organics stream and a wet stream of a wet/dry system.
Once the mixed waste processing test is near completion, we will report further to Works Committee (in early 2001) on the
results of this first phase and on specific plans for the three-stream and wet/dry pilots.
Contact:
Renee Dello
Senior Analyst - Waste Diversion Planning
Solid Waste Management Services
Works and Emergency Services
Metro Hall, 19th Floor
Phone: 392-5806
Fax: 392-4754
E-mail: rdello@toronto.ca
Angelos Bacopoulos
General Manager, Solid Waste Management Services
Barry H. Gutteridge
Commissioner, Works and Emergency Services
RD:RS
(wetdry)
