STAFF REPORT
January 28, 2000
To: Works Committee
From: Barry H. Gutteridge, Commissioner, Works and Emergency Services
Subject: Public Consultation for the Proposed Solid Waste Collection By-law
Purpose:
To provide members of Committee and Council with a summary of the Solid Waste Collection
By-law public consultation process.
Financial Implications and Impact Statement:
There are no direct financial implications as a result of this report.
Recommendations:
It is recommended that:
(1) this report be received for information.
Background:
Since amalgamation, solid waste collection in the City of Toronto has been regulated by six (6)
separate by-laws. Due to fundamental differences in collection policies and enforcement procedures,
the need for a harmonized solid waste collection by-law has been paramount. Solid Waste staff, in
consultation with the Legal Department, are currently finalizing a draft by-law to be presented to the
public for comment. Following this public consultation process and upon approval by Council, all
six former by-laws will be repealed and replaced by a harmonized City of Toronto solid waste
collection by-law. This proposed by-law will harmonize collection policies and standarize
enforcement procedures across the City, while providing a fair and efficient collection system for
our customers.
Comments:
The Works and Emergency Services Public Consultation and Community Outreach Unit will be
responsible for managing the public consultation process which is expected to begin at the beginning
of March, 2000 with a closing date for comments in mid April, 2000. It is anticipated that these
timelines are sufficient to allow all stakeholders ample opportunity to provide feedback on the
proposed by-law. Staff will present the proposed solid waste collection by-law to the Works
Committee for approval in July, 2000, along with a report summarizing the outcome of the
consultation process.
While the proposed by-law will address solid waste collection from single family residential,
multiple household residential, institutional and commercial locations, the public consultation
process addressed in this report will focus only on the residential sector. Issues specific to the
commercial and institutional (e.g. public and private schools) sector, such as eligibility criteria and
service fees will be dealt with in a separate consultation process.
(1) Single Family Households/Curbside Collection
Residents in single family homes will have the opportunity to comment on information pertinent to
their curbside collection service through information advertisements in community newspapers and
on the City's web site. In addition, a fact sheet summarizing aspects of the by-law affecting our
residential customers will be distributed to any interested person, including approximately 5,000
environmental organizations and individuals currently on our mailing list. Comments from these
stakeholders will be received via telephone, e-mail, facsimile and through an organized public
meeting.
The information ads will address item set out limits, set out times, container requirements and other
issues relevant to residential curbside collection. While most issues only require minor adjustments,
the number of items allowed per collection set out varies significantly across the City. Setting an
appropriate container or item limit encourages residents receiving curbside collection to reduce the
amount of waste they generate at source through a change in purchasing habits or the use of a
composter. In addition, an item limit may increase recycling activity among those residents who
have historically chosen not to participate in the City's recycling program.
It is proposed that the integrated by-law limit the amount of items to be set out to a maximum of six
(6) per household per collection. Based on surveys done in various areas throughout the City, the
average household puts out 2.9 items for collection on each collection day. Only four percent of
the dwellings surveyed put out greater than 6 items on any collection day which may be due to a
number of factors including garage clean-ups or non-participation in the City's recycling program.
These studies indicate that a 6 item set out limit would not have a significant impact on the vast
majority of our customers.
(2) Multiple Household Residences
Owners and/or property managers responsible for multiple household residences will be notified of
the implications of the draft by-law through mailings of a stakeholder consultation package that will
include copies of the proposed draft by-law and fact sheets summarizing the key issues relevant to
them. Stakeholders will have an opportunity to comment on the draft by-law via telephone, e-mail,
facsimile and through an organized public meeting.
One key issue is a proposed mandatory recycling clause that is currently enforced in the Etobicoke
Community Council Area and the Scarborough Community Council Area through existing by-laws.
This clause will deal with the City's right to not provide waste collection services to any property
which does not participate fully in the City's recycling program. Based on previous experience, the
enforcement of such a requirement will enable the City to increase recycling participation rates
among multiple household residences.
In addition to the mandatory recycling clause, the public consultation process will include bin rental
fee/user fee options for multiple household residences. At present, the former City of Toronto
charges bin rental fees to all multiple household residences receiving bulk containerized services.
Options being considered for the entire City will include an expanded bin rental program, a per
household service fee, or a per bin service fee. A summary of these options is presented in a separate
Works Committee report on this agenda. Currently, multiple household residences are diverting
approximately nine percent of their waste generated. While the mandatory recycling requirement
will encourage the implementation of a recycling program, both the bin rental and per bin service
fee have the potential to encourage multiple household residences to divert more waste due to the
financial benefits of decreasing garbage bin requirements.
(2) Community Councils
Parallel to the public consultation process, a report and a copy of the draft by-law will be presented
to each Community Council for review.
(3) Other Stakeholders
Solid waste organizations such as the Ontario Waste Management Association (OWMA), Solid
Waste Association of North America (SWANA) and Municipal Waste Integration Network (MWIN)
will also be provided with an opportunity to comment on the draft by-law through direct mailings
to these organizations.
Conclusions:
The proposed Solid Waste Collection By-law has been developed to provide a fair and equitable
collection system for our customers and also addresses opportunities for improved service delivery,
increased efficiencies and increased waste diversion. The stakeholder consultation process described
in this report will provide an opportunity for our customers to comment on any changes that may
affect their collection service and allow staff to incorporate customer feedback into the draft by-law
prior to submission to the Works Committee.
Contact:
Catharine Daniels Robert Davis
Senior Analyst, Policy Development Supervisor, Public Consultation and
Solid Waste Management Services Community Outreach
Works and Emergency Services Technical Services Division
Metro Hall, 19th Floor Works and Emergency Services
Phone: 392-4632 Metro Hall, 18th Floor
Fax: 392-4754 Phone: 392-2990
E-mail: daniels@toronto.ca Fax: 392-2974
E-mail: robert_davis@toronto.ca
Angelos Bacopoulos
General Manager, Solid Waste Management Services
Barry H. Gutteridge
Commissioner, Works and Emergency Services
