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This project is no longer active. The following information is
provided for archival purposes.
On
October 2, 1998, Toronto City Council directed staff to engage
the marketplace to secure long term disposal capacity and
to examine
waste diversion options. The marketplace is any public or private
body, either individually or in a partnership, who can provide
these
services to the city. This marked the start of the Solid Waste
Management - Marketplace Engagement Program (SWM-MEP). This
program will build
on the work done in 1997-8 under the Solid Waste Environmental
Assessment for Long-term Disposal (SWEAD, see below). The
main difference between
the two programs is that SWM-MEP will not be carried out within
the formal Environmental Assessment planning process, due
to time
constraints. Environmental principles will, however, still play
a critical role in evaluating proposals.
SWM-MEP
will engage the marketplace to identify new disposal capacity, 3Rs
diversion opportunities, and new and emerging solid waste management
technologies, which the city may wish to pilot. New disposal capacity
is needed prior to the closure of Toronto's remaining in-service
landfill, the Keele Valley Landfill Site, that has a projected closure
date of late 2001.
Disposal
alternatives being considered for the long-term management of Toronto's
waste include Energy From Waste (EFW), and landfill disposal. The
"marketplace" is North American in scope and includes
Ontario-based options, export options, and private-public and/or
public-public options.
Throughout
the planning process, public consultation has been undertaken and
will continue to play an important role in the planning process.
To be placed on the project's mailing list, please contact
Tracey Ehl, Public Consultation Coordinator at 416-392-6698. For
additional information about the project, please contact Lawson
Oates, Project Manager at 416-392-9744.
Solid
Waste Environmental Assessment for Long-term Disposal
January 1996 - October 2, 1998
This
page contains historic information about the SWEAD project. Toronto
residents and businesses are involved in a variety of waste reduction
programs including recycling, re-use and composting. However, even
with the goal of 50 percent waste reduction by the year 2006, there
will still be residual garbage requiring disposal. The Solid Waste
Disposal Environmental Assessment looked at the options available
from private industry, including partnerships, landfills and energy
from waste facilities. This process followed the rules set out in
the Environmental Assessment and Consultation Improvement Act.
Who
was involved?
Staff from Toronto Works, in consultation with the public and waste
management industry, were involved. The consulting firm of Proctor
& Redfern assisted the new City of Toronto in this planning
process.
What
were the issues?
As a result of public workshops and meetings, a number of concerns
were raised:
- Need
to deal with the inequities in evaluating environmental impacts
of American sites vs. Ontario sites for waste management facilities.
It was felt that the evaluation method was biased against an Ontario
solution.
- Disapproval
of exporting waste from Ontario.
- Need
to incorporate opportunities for new and emerging technologies.
- Importance
of working with a company that has expertise in waste reduction
and is a good corporate citizen.
- Need
to recognize the 3Rs in this process.
What
public consultation approach was used?
Interested members of the public and waste management industry were
kept up-to-date and given opportunities to comment on the project.
A series of public and industry workshops and meetings were held
at key stages of the project. These public workshops and industry
meetings will continue to be held until this project is complete.
A number of fact sheets and workshop reports have been produced
to provide interested parties with project highlights. Project documentation
was circulated to all those who are interested and city staff could
be reached by phone, fax and email to discuss the project.
How
did we involve stakeholders?
Feb 97: Interested members of the public and waste management industry
met to discuss the major planning issues and how people wished to
be consulted. Participants discussed four planning principles (later
approved by Council) that would guide the process:
- Metro
will turn to the marketplace to identify alternatives.
- A
generic comparison of landfill vs. incineration will not be undertaken.
- The
3Rs Strategy will identify residual waste requiring disposal.
- Consultation
will be Metro-based (now City of Toronto).
May
97: A workshop was held to discuss the criteria that would be used
to evaluate proposals submitted by the marketplace. A set of criteria
that must be met, called Mandatory, was developed. A second set
of criteria, Evaluation criteria, was also discussed. Evaluation
criteria would be used to compare proposals that meet all of the
Mandatory criteria, with the intent of identifying a suitable waste
management facility(s). The Mandatory criteria would be given to
interested members of the marketplace in a Request for Qualifications
process. Once it is clear that a proposal meets all of the Mandatory
criteria, it will move on to the next phase of evaluation which
is a comparison of each proposal, based on the Evaluation criteria.
These criteria will be introduced to the marketplace through a Request
for Proposals process.
July
97: A working group meeting was held to refine the EA Terms of Reference.
A staff report outlining the results of the Terms development process
and recommendations for next steps was approved by Council on September
24, 1997. Council authorization was given to work with provincial
ministries and agencies to review the draft EA Terms of Reference,
and to develop a method to calculate quantities of priority pollutants
released to the environment by proposed waste disposal facilities.
Developing this type of impact model will allow a comparison of
the proposals, based on their impacts to the environment.
Oct
97: An Impact Modeling Workshop was held for interested members
of the public and the waste management industry. At this workshop,
participants discussed their views on the identified pollutants
and other criteria that would be evaluated for each proposal, and
which ones should be more important.
A
new planning direction
In view of the pressures on the Keele Valley Landfill Site, Toronto
Council decided in October 1998 to implement a more streamlined
process to identify new waste management capacity, while continuing
to follow sound environmental planning principles, including stakeholder
consultation. The new process, known as the Solid Waste Management
Marketplace Engagement Program (SWM-MEP), will request owners of
existing or planned 3Rs and disposal facilities to provide Toronto
with services and/or facilities for waste management.
How
can I get involved?
If you would like to recieve newsletters, give us your comments
or be added to the project database, please contact us.
Publications
& Links
The four publications below are available by mail. Please contact
us for a copy.
- Draft
Impact Modeling Workshop Results, October 29, 1997
- Draft
Working Group Results, July 24, 1997
- Draft
Workshop Results Public Workshop #2, May 24, 1997
- Draft
Workshop Results Public Workshop #1, February 22, 1997
You will need
to have the latest version of the FREE Acrobat
Reader 
on your computer to view
Long
Term Waste Disposal EA Terms of Reference - Draft Working Brief
- Environmental Effects Inventory and Comparative Evaluation Model,
October 29, 1997 - (PDF 57k)
This
Working Brief presents the method which were proposed to assess
the environmental effects of the alternative waste disposal solutions
which the North American waste management marketplace may propose
to Toronto. As background for this document, readers are encouraged
to read the Long Term Waste Disposal EA Terms of Reference (DRAFT)
listed below.
Long
Term Waste Disposal EA Terms of Reference (DRAFT), August 27, 1997
- (PDF 111k)
Metro's
Future Waste Disposal System, March 14, 1997 - (PDF
74k) This is a background paper used to develop the environmental
assessment.
Contact
Us
Lawson Oates Project Manager
Phone: 416-392-9744
Fax: 416-392-2974
E-mail: loates@toronto.ca
24 hour comment line:
416-397-7777
24 hour TTY: 416-397-0831
Email: works_consultation@toronto.ca
Public Consultation
Toronto Works & Emergency Services
19th Floor, Metro Hall
55 John Street,
Toronto, ON
M5V 3C6
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