Report to: General Committee                                  Date Report Authored: November 6, 2009

 

SUBJECT:                          Joint Waste Diversion Strategy - 2009 

PREPARED BY:               Claudia Marsales, Manager, Waste Management Operations Department, Community and Fire Services

 

 

RECOMMENDATION:

 

1)      That the report entitled “Joint Waste Diversion Strategy - 2009” be received;

 

2)      That Council acknowledge the successful Inter-Municipal Waste Diversion  Committee (IMWDC) partnership between York Region and the Local Municipalities in achieving diversion leadership status in the ‘large urban’ category awarded by Waste Diversion Ontario (WDO);

 

3)      That the IMWDC continue to collaborate and ensure all waste management program changes are based on:

 

Ø      overall system costs  - collection and processing   

Ø      convenience and flexibility to encourage participation in diversion activities

 

4)      That York Region be requested to continue to accept diapers, pet waste and organics in plastic bags, and as part of the Green Bin organics diversion program;

 

5)      That Markham launch a program to educate residents on the benefits of using compostable bags and the proper preparation of Green Bin materials to reduce contamination and processing residue;

 

6)      That the Region review and implement operational improvements within the organics processing system as a means of addressing and reducing the high amount of residual material generated through processing;

 

7)      That the Zero Waste philosophy be incorporated into the 2009 Joint Waste  Diversion Strategy;

 

8)      That a copy of this resolution be forwarded to York Region and the Local Municipalities;         

 

And that Staff be authorized and directed to do all things necessary to give effect to this resolution.

 

PURPOSE:

This report provides an overview of the updated 2009 Joint Waste Diversion Strategy and recommends improvements to Green Bin organics preparation and processing practices to reduce contamination and residue.

 

 

 

BACKGROUND:

In 2005, after careful consideration and research, Markham, in partnership with York Region, made the decision to allow residents to include diapers, pet waste and use plastic bags in the Green Bin. Markham led the way with its ‘Mission Green’ program which was subsequently adopted Region wide. 

 

It is evident that residents have embraced the Green Bin organics program. Diversion rates across the Region exceed 60% with Markham diverting 72.6% in 2008. The success of the program is largely due to its public acceptance through convenience. This is illustrated through the single stream recycling program and expanded organics collection which includes diapers and pet waste and allows residents to use the bag of their choice including plastic shopping bags.

 

In 2006, the Local Municipalities and York Region partnered to form the Inter-Municipal Waste Diversion Committee (IMWDC) to develop a Joint Waste Diversion Strategy.  The purpose of the strategy was to work in partnership to create a waste management  system that would increase diversion to at least 65% of the residential waste stream over the short term, and increase to 70% over the Strategy’s 10-year planning period.  The Strategy was subsequently adopted by all Councils.

 

In 2009, the IMWDC met to update the joint Strategy and identify new diversion initiatives and opportunities. 

 

OPTIONS/ DISCUSSION:

 

IMWDC strategy sessions centered on organics processing residue

 

Discussion at the recent strategy sessions centered on the high percentage of Green Bin residue being sent to landfill and potential solutions. York Region advocated banning the plastic bags and requiring residents to buy and use compostable bags in the Green Bin. To support the transition, the Region sponsored a pilot program which gave every resident 4 compostable bags to try.

 

In response to the concerns about Green Bin residue, an independent audit of Vaughan’s Green Bin material was completed and found the following:

                                              

Material

% of Total

Acceptable Kitchen Organics

74.14

Paper/Napkins

9.45

Diapers/Sanitary Products

5.75

Plastic Bags

6.01

Other: Acceptable Items

2.54

Unacceptable Material

2.10

Total

99.95

Total: Plastic/Diapers/Unacceptable Items

13.86

2008 York Region Reported Residual Rate

43.00

The audit confirmed that all plastic, diaper liners and other unacceptable items totaled 13.86%.  This is a significant variance between the Region’s reported residual of 43%.

This variance indicates high residue maybe the result of inadequate processing operations and not plastic bags.

 

Specialized processing technology is required to remove the plastic bags and other plastic contaminants. This technology known as ‘BTA’ is successfully used by the City of Toronto which operates a facility in Downsview and is in the process of building two additional BTA facilities within the Toronto city limits to process Green Bin organics. AECOM Canada Ltd. utilizing Canada Composting Inc. technology – BTA has been awarded the contract.

 

York Region does not have an organics processing facility and currently transports our organics to two private Ontario facilities for processing: Orgaworld in London Ontario and Universal Resource Recovery in Welland Ontario which utilizes the Transform Composting System technology. This degree of residual resulting from these contracted processing operations is not acceptable and is of concern to the IMWDC.

 

Local Municipalities support keeping diapers, pet waste and plastic bags in the Green Bin

 

All Local Municipal staff expressed concern that a requirement to use compostable bags would negatively impact participation, diversion, and current collection contracts. The benefits of using plastic bags for organics include:

 

Ø       Easy to understand program that drives participation and diversion

Ø       Flexibility –  residents can use the bag of their choice

Ø       Allow diapers and pet waste to be included in the program

Ø       Health and safety concerns – bags protect collectors

Ø       Secure containment of material in collection vehicles

Ø       Overflow organics can be put in large clear plastic bags

Ø       Easier to expand organics collection to multi-residential units, special events,  

       municipal offices, parks, public spaces

Ø       Processing technology exists to remove plastic, mitigate odours and produce     

       good quality compost

Ø      City of Toronto allows plastic bags- avoids confusion

 

The direct impact to Markham’s Mission Green program would include:

 

Ø      Minimum 5% drop in diversion rate

Ø      Compostable bags are expensive: $.07 - $.20 per bag - $1.7 million per year cost to taxpayers

Ø      Increased complaints about unstable bags that leak, dirty green bins and compostable bags which have poor shelf life

Ø      Confusion about compostable vs biodegradable bags. Region requires only compostable bags be used

Ø      Negatively impact collecting organics from Special Events, multi-residential sector and Town facilities

 

In addition, it was acknowledged that compostable and/or biodegradable bags may not breakdown during the processing timeframe and could end up as residue.

                                            

All of the nine Local Municipalities preferred a voluntary approach to encourage   compostable bags. It was felt that any mandatory requirement to buy and use compostable bags would result in a significant decline in participation and residents would resist purchasing compostable bags costing 7 cents per bag to line the kitchen catcher and 20 cents for larger bags.

 

As several major retailers have stopped providing free plastic bags to shoppers, it is anticipated that this will reduce the quantity of plastic bags in the marketplace overtime and residents will begin to voluntarily use compostable bags in their Green Bin. In addition, municipal staff agreed to educate residents on alternative ways to reduce contamination while continuing to allow plastic bags:

 

Ø      Use one large Green Bin liner instead of several individual small bags

Ø      Wrap diapers loosely

Ø      Never double bag

Ø      Loosely secure bag - avoid tight knots

 

Ontario does not have established standards for Green Bin program design. Some municipalities have chosen not to allow plastics, diapers and pet waste in their Green Bin program and collect only food leftovers. These municipalities have subsequently found expanding organic collection to apartments, public spaces, and schools problematic with high levels of contamination, declining participation and prohibitive bag costs.

 

Increasing waste diversion will become more challenging   

 

Table 1 below provides a description of the major waste diversion options identified by staff from the Local Municipalities and is included in the strategy update. When implemented, these initiatives are anticipated to increase the amount of waste diverted from disposal to more than 70% by 2016. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Table 1:

Priority Initiatives

Future Considerations

Supportive

·        Community Environmental Centres

·        Bag limits/financial incentives

·        Enhanced Communication and Public Outreach

·        Infrastructure development Advocacy

·        Diversion of Textiles

Diversion

·        Source Separated Organics (implemented)

·        Optimized Blue Box (ongoing)

·        Seasonal Collection of Yard Waste (implemented)

·        Implementation of WDO Initiatives b

·        Waste Diversion in Public Places b

Supportive

·        Mandatory Recycling By-law

·        Continued research into new initiatives and technologies to reach beyond the projected 65% diversion target

Reduction

·        Backyard composting b 

·        Fostering a culture of minimal to no waste

·        Municipal green purchasing b

Re-use

·        Materials exchange on-line service b

Diversion

·        Small quantity IC&I waste generators

·        Residential construction & demolition waste

·        Multi-residential Recycling and Organics b

a Previously identified in the 2006 document as a future consideration

b These initiatives have been added to the updated Strategy and were not included in the 2006 document.

 

As the final strategy document indicates, increasing waste diversion will become more challenging, implementation of new initiatives will represent much smaller gains in waste diversion, and greater effort will be required to achieve future waste diversion targets.

 

No consensus on Zero Waste

 

While the 2009 Joint strategy acknowledges that recycling and composting are not the only methods available for reducing the amount of waste requiring disposal, consensus on adopting a more aggressive diversion timetable and a Zero Waste philosophy was not achieved by the committee.

 

The IMWDC supported increased cooperation to deliver a seamless diversion program for residents while allowing flexibility for municipalities to reflect the individuality of their community. Key issues identified are:

 

Ø      Need to resolve organics processing issues a priority

Ø      Collaboration between York Region and Local Municipalities to manage and introduce all program changes

Ø      Assess all program changes based on overall system costs  - recognize potential impact on collection contracts

Ø      Recognition of the economic climate: single taxpayer

Ø      Manage change based on increasing diversion and impact on new innovative programs such as clear bags and blue recycling bags

 

CONCLUSIONS:

Although plastic material has to be removed during processing, the benefits to the resident and collection staff have driven the success of both Markham and The Region’s diversion program. In addition, use of plastic bags for organics is essential in order to expand the collection of organics beyond the curb to apartments, schools, public spaces and special events. Plastic bags improve the general household cleanliness of the program for residents and the use of bag liners is an important component of health and safety and the ‘yuck’ factor associated with household organics.

 

It is staff’s position that residents should be encouraged to use compostable bags, and educated to reduce the amount of plastic shopping bags in the Green Bin but not be banned from using plastic bags. Through this approach, residents can be made aware of the benefits of using compostable bags, which in turn will provide the resulting processing benefits.

 

 

FINANCIAL CONSIDERATIONS AND TEMPLATE:

None.

 

HUMAN RESOURCES CONSIDERATIONS:

None.

 

ALIGNMENT WITH STRATEGIC PRIORITIES:

This aligns with BMFT.

 

BUSINESS UNITS CONSULTED AND AFFECTED:

N/A

 

RECOMMENDED

                            BY:    ________________________          ________________________

                                      Brenda Librecz, Commissioner         Peter Loukes, P. Eng.

                                     Community and Fire Services            Director, Operations