Ontario’s plan to overhaul the Blue Box system moved forward last week when it began the first consultation involving municipalities, waste management companies and waste producers.
The province wants to build a “circular economy” in which producers, rather than municipalities, are held responsible for managing plastic and other packaging at end-of-life.
The Association of Municipalities Ontario said it wants to come up with a convenient and seamless collection system for residents.
That should include performance targets for producers and a standardized list of materials to be collected, including how best to deal with single-use plastics, it said.
The shift has been planned since passage of the Resource Recover and Circular Economy Act of 2016.