Municipal datacall information for 2006 recently released by Waste Diversion Ontario (WDO) shows that municipal diversion province-wide in Ontario is static at about 38%, far short of the 60% target a…
Municipal datacall information for 2006 recently released by Waste Diversion Ontario (WDO) shows that municipal diversion province-wide in Ontario is static at about 38%, far short of the 60% target announced by the Liberal government under Premier McGuinty in the 2003 election campaign, and only four percentage points above the rate reported for 2005. The statistics represent the limits of roadside blue box programs, which make it easy for householders to divert certain kinds of plastic, metal and glass containers and especially fiber (i.e., old newspapers, magazines and cardboard) but are only really effective for about a third of the waste stream. Experts say that getting the diversion rate higher requires a combination of new programs. In 2007, Ontario placed all wine and spirit containers on deposit, with returns handled province-wide through outlets of The Beer Store. This has kept a large amount of low-value glass cullet out of the blue box. Environmental groups and municipalities have called for a deposit-refund program for all used soft-drink containers, as exists in most other provinces which enjoy much higher container capture rates. They say that keeping the voluminous materials out of the blue box would release space for other materials.