Statement by Karen Wirsig, Senior Program Manager for Plastics
Toronto | Traditional territories of the Mississaugas of the Credit, the Anishinaabeg, the Haudenosaunee, and the Wendat – The government’s proposal to gut the Ontario Blue Box regulations trashes more than a decade of progress toward effective waste reduction policy. If adopted, it would lead to more plastic burning and more litter, while further straining Ontario landfills. The government is betraying Ontarians by seeking to reverse requirements that would have reduced single-use and unrecyclable plastics and to delay enforcement of these—now weakened—rules for another five years, to 2031.
The province is giving in to producers, including highly profitable grocery retailers, such as Loblaw, at the expense of Ontarians. This deregulation would allow companies to continue to increase their use of throwaway single-use packaging that cannot be easily recycled. Instead of redesigning packaging for reuse and recycling, or eliminating it altogether, producers will be incentivized to burn non-recyclable packaging in incinerators, refineries or cement kilns and call it recycling. More burning of garbage, especially plastics, means more dangerous air pollution, putting the health of Ontarians and the environment at risk.
Another proposed change would reverse requirements for beverage producers, including Coca-Cola and Pepsi, to collect empties discarded away from home (e.g., in a park or mall bin). Holding these companies responsible for all their drink containers, coupled with a high target for recycling or refill, has been key to building support among producers for expanding Ontario’s deposit-return program to non-alcoholic beverages, something that is very popular with Ontarians. By keeping the system as is—relying only on residential blue boxes to collect empties—we estimate more than 1.7 billion plastic bottles alone will continue to end up in landfills, incinerators or directly in our parks and lakes each year.
What’s more, the government is proposing to let producers off the hook for collection in multi-residential buildings that handle their waste collection privately. If this grossly unfair proposed change goes through, tenants in these buildings will continue to bear the costs of this waste through their rents while the rest of Ontarians get producer-paid collection.
Despite concerns about increasing waste and declining landfill capacity in Ontario, these moves would extend the status quo for garbage packaging for years to come.
Background:
The Blue Box regulations were introduced in 2021 as part of the province’s move to Extended Producer Responsibility for packaging. Under the existing regulation, producers become fully responsible for the packaging they sell to the residential market at the end of this year, and are required to adhere to targets for the recycling or reuse of materials.
The proposed changes would:
- Delay enforcement of the collection and recycling/reuse (“management”) targets from 2026 to 2031.
- Reduce the management target for “flexible” plastic packaging (including food wrap, pouches and bags) from 25 per cent to 5 per cent, acknowledging that these materials are “challenging” to recycle.
- Eliminate the requirement to extend producer responsibility for packaging waste to apartment buildings, long-term care homes, retirement homes and schools that currently don’t have municipal waste collection.
- Eliminate beverage producers’ responsibility for beverage containers consumed “away from home” (e.g., in a park or mall bin).
- Allow the burning of “non-recyclable” packaging (mostly plastic) in waste incinerators and cement kilns and call it recycling.
ABOUT ENVIRONMENTAL DEFENCE (environmentaldefence.ca): Environmental Defence is a leading Canadian environmental advocacy organization that works with government, industry and individuals to defend clean water, a safe climate and healthy communities.
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For more information or to request an interview, please contact:
Brittany Harris, Environmental Defence, media@environmentaldefence.ca
