The City of Guelph expects the high-density, multi-residential (MR) sector to grow to over 30% of its total housing stock by 2031, up from 11% in 2011. In an attempt to improve and expand collection services to MR buildings the City added front-end service in 2018. This involved purchase of a front-end collection vehicle with [...]

Municipal recycling costs have continued to increase annually, due to the increasing complexity and light-weighting of the packaging supplied into the market. Sorting challenges and confusion amongst residents is growing as packaging becomes more complex and multi-layered. In turn, this contributes to higher contamination rates and higher net system costs. The CIF, in partnership with the [...]

In this final installment of the "Put a lid on it" mini-series, we continue to share the initial learnings from a litter, moisture and time-and-motion audit conducted in Durham Region in the fall of 2020. Part I focused on litter, including the causes, composition, and lids as a potential solution. Part II explored moisture and [...]

In this second installment of the "Put a lid on it" mini-series, we continue to explore the initial findings of a litter, moisture and time-and-motion audit conducted in Durham Region in the fall of 2020. Part I focussed on litter, including the causes, composition and lids as a potential solution. In addition to controlling litter, [...]

Open top blue boxes at the curb can contribute to litter on the streets and moisture levels that can impact the marketability of the materials. The CIF has been working with Durham Region to develop a methodology to assess litter and moisture related to open blue boxes, and furthermore, to measure the cost and effectiveness of [...]

Transition to an Individual Producer Responsibility (IPR) framework, China Sword policies, and COVID-19 are all contributing to a challenging and uncertain environment for Ontario municipalities operating blue box programs. Despite this, municipalities continue to deliver services and maintain program performance. To help ensure continued efficiency and effectiveness of recycling systems there are some new technologies [...]

Faced with a new processing RFP, Dufferin County sought to understand the costs to manage increasing amounts of bagged recyclables, and whether it would be more cost-effective to debag at the curb or process bagged materials at the MRF. Dufferin provides single stream recycling collection in Blue Boxes, with the option to use clear bags [...]

Accurately measuring the cost and effectiveness of municipal programs is fundamental to making informed decisions about program changes, investments, and transition planning. When it comes to recycling depots, municipalities report their costs through the annual Resource Productivity and Recovery Authority (RPRA) Datacall. However, these costs vary significantly, due in part to the broad range of [...]

In anticipation of the curbside collection contracts renewal, pending regulatory/policy change and the development of a 30-year Solid Waste Master Plan, the City of Ottawa retained Dillon Consulting Limited (Dillon) to complete a study and develop a curbside collection model. The model assisted the City in identifying the most cost-effective curbside waste collection system to [...]

For this weeks blog, we're trying something new! Watch the video or scroll down for the full text. If you like this format, send your feedback to communications@thecif.ca. Contamination rates prompted Northumberland to act During Waste Management Master Planning in 2014, Northumberland County identified a need to shift from single stream bagged recycling to dual [...]

Last week, in response to the evolving COVID-19 situation, the Ontario government ordered at-risk workplaces to close-down, while asking essential businesses and services to put in place “any and all measures to safeguard the well-being of their employees on the front-lines”.  With regards to waste and recycling, municipalities across Ontario are taking actions to prevent [...]

In 2019, the Township of Algonquin Highlands started testing the effectiveness and efficiency of using covers for 40-yard fibre recycling bins. The goal of the project was to assess whether a covered bin would improve the quality of materials and help avoid increases in processing costs. Notices from the MRF indicated that wet materials would [...]

In Peel Region, gravity locks were installed on a few Front End Loading (FEL) bins at Multi Residential (MR) buildings where the buildings did not use chutes for recycling as a means to control contamination and improve material quality. Okay, so what do gravity locks have to do with contamination? Gravity locks deter MR residents [...]

Managers of municipal curbside collection programs often have a hard time gathering up-to-date information on the number of units serviced in a collection route. This issue is even more difficult in areas with seasonal populations which leads to challenges reporting out in the RPRA Datacall. These difficulties are compounded when undergoing a collection contract change, […]

The pilot took place along two 100-home routes within the town of Cobourg from September 25, 2018 to March 26, 2019. Prior to and during the project, households within the pilot area were delivered the required information to participate in the program, as well as a 16-gallon yellow glass collection box. To optimize collection efficiencies, [...]

In 2016 the Town of Hearst was faced with the need to make a strategic change to address challenging waste management program realities: Recycling had plateaued at roughly 157 MT per year Equipment used to deliver the program was obsolete and costly to operate Long-time municipal recycling program delivery partners were striking out in new […]

In an effort to boost diversion by 1,300 tonnes, the City of Guelph extended collection services to additional multi-residential properties. They elected to use Front End Loading (FEL) trucks equipped with Curottto Cans, in order to keep costs contained. What are Curotto Cans? Glad you asked… let’s dive in. A Curotto Can is a mounted [...]

Public spaces have their own unique issues to manage when setting up collection programs. They can be a broad range of situations and the types and quantities of waste generated can vary significantly depending on who uses the space and how it is used. To assist municipalities with designing a successful program, the CIF has [...]

As part of ongoing efforts to increase residential waste diversion and considering the need to establish clearly defined service levels in its next collection contract, a large Ontario municipality recently completed a cost benefit analysis (CBA), retaining Dillon Consulting Limited (Dillon) through a competitive procurement process to complete the study. The goal was to identify [...]

Multi Residential (MR) recycling performance lags behind curbside for two, nearly universal reasons: a smaller quantity of material is captured, and its quality is compromised by high levels of unwanted items such as food waste and textiles. When faced with challenging and complicated problems such as these, behaviour change researchers Dan and Chip Heath advise […]

CIF’s February 1 blog revealed how the Township of Drummond/North Elmsley (DNE) addressed international fiber market issues by transitioning its Blue Box program from weekly single stream to two stream, alternating week collection. This week’s blog answers your follow up questions about: How has this change affected participation? What is the impact of going to [...]

Special guest blog contributed by Barry Friesen, General Manager of CleanfarmsInc. and an Etobicoke Rotarian Imagine hosting a dinner party for 100,000 people.  Where do you seat them? Where do they park? Where do you find enough food to feed them?  And the overflow of packaging and compostables in your green and blue bins would [...]

The municipality of Hastings Highlands covers nearly 1,000 scenic square kilometres and neighbours the iconic landscapes of Algonquin Park in central Ontario. Like many rural operators, a large component of its Blue Box program costs relate to hauling materials from depot collection sites to distant recovery facilities that often lie more than 100 kilometres away. […]

CIF in cooperation with the City of Barrie and its contractor, Waste Connections, recently funded a quantitative study to determine whether additional sorting effort at the curbside could significantly reduce the amount of ‘unsolicited’ material delivered to a MRF. Photo source: City of Barrie Curbside contamination consists of unsolicited materials (e. g., a running shoe [...]

Photo source: City of Barrie Historically, the ratio of collection to processing costs has wavered between 60:40 to 70:30 of the overall total. Logically, the focus of many decision makers has centered on cost savings that could be realized on the collection side of operations. Single stream proved advantageous for many as it offered the [...]

Clothing, footwear, towels, bedding, and drapes – all are examples of textiles that may end up landfills once residents are through with them. This despite the availability of drop off bins and thrift stores throughout municipalities. Textile waste is steadily increasing due in large part to trendy, low-cost fashion and home finishing items that make [...]

Sault Ste. Marie along with its contractor, Green for Life Environmental (GFL) are celebrating 5 years of successful Blue Box recycling with a split-body recycling collection cart. The rollout of this 28,000 cart program in 2013 now provides real-life data on the effectiveness of large-cart recycling collection in Ontario. While large 95-gallon carts have been […]

Peel’s Regional Council issued a resolution to achieve a diversion target of 75% by 2034. Recognizing Multi-residential (MR) sector recycling rates lag considerably behind curbside rates, Region staff set out to understand the potential and the cost of capturing additional blue box tonnes from residents living in MR homes. What’s involved with installing RFID technology [...]

Promotion & Education (P&E) is the messaging to residents that builds awareness of the Blue Box program, motivates them to participate, and instructs them on how to do it properly. P&E messaging can be conveyed through a broad range of multi-media tactics and channels – newspapers, billboards, posters, flyers, calendars, guides, TV, radio, social media, [...]

Many Ontario Blue Box recycling programs have implemented policies aimed at improving material quality and participation levels. “Bag Limit,” “Pay as You Throw” and “Clear Bag” policies are the three most frequently used, either alone or in combination. We know these policies yield all kinds of benefits, from reducing health and safety issues to increasing […]

“What are other municipalities doing?” It’s a question that pops up often in the minds of those working the frontlines of the multi-residential (MR) recycling sector. At CIF Multi-Residential Working Group (MRWG) meetings, municipal representatives share local knowledge, experience and resources to leverage successes and overcome challenges specific to MR. The result of their active […]

Imagine a rural municipality with an automated cart collection system, bi-weekly garbage and recycling pickup, a robust compost program, two transfer stations, a diversion rate over 50% and 74 years left of landfill space…and a tax base of less than 3,000 households. The Township of Southgate has demonstrated that you don’t need to be a […]

Most of our stakeholders will know the CIF provides Municipalities and First Nations with the opportunity to purchase blue boxes, recycling carts, and reusable bags at economies of scale pricing through the Cooperative Container Procurement Program (CCPP). In fact, since April 2016 more than 50 municipalities have invested nearly $2M in their collection programs through […]

Go into any big box store today and you’ll be sure to find a self-serve check out aisle. Customers are encouraged to do the work of scanning items and tallying up the cost of the items they want to purchase. This trend of shifting work to the customer is becoming more and more commonplace. Why? […]

It's been proven that people tend to be more open to changing routine behaviours during times of transition. In that light, the Fall offers a golden opportunity to educate residents about ways to change their habits to tune up their recycling performance. If you're planning your Fall or Winter campaign, this blog offers a reminder [...]

Municipalities with high seasonal resident populations typically service this population with depot collection at landfill or transfer site locations.  Cottagers are often ready and willing recycling participants who need a little help understanding the differences from their home recycling programs. In addition to providing a clean, welcoming depot with clear signage (check out the CIF […]

In a recent project, Peel Region focused a comprehensive P&E campaign on the problem of incorrect set outs in multi-residential (MR) buildings, yielding valuable learnings for programs across the province. Tied off bags: Can we get residents to stop setting out recyclables in them? Increasingly MRFs struggle to deal with materials entering facilities in tied […]

Oxford County recently harmonized blue box and garbage curbside programs in seven of their lower tier municipalities targeting improved service delivery and cost savings (reducing the collection contract budget 15%).  CIF supported the communication campaign for the program relaunch under project 947. Communication campaigns are complex in that there can be many vendors and purchases […]

CIF Staff interviewed communications expert Barbara McConnell as well as some of our municipal colleagues who are actively engaged in P&E campaigns to find out how they analyze the impact of their P&E campaigns. Here’s what we found. Audits are a great starting point, but they’re not the whole story Barbara tells us, audits answer […]

Mandatory clear bags is often associated with enforcing recycling bylaws and that’s too bad because the biggest benefit in a clear bags program may actually be the opportunity they offer for communicating with residents. The Town of Kearney operates two depot drop-off sites, which creates a perfect opportunity for attendants to connect face-to-face with residents.  […]

Ask any recycling truck driver what their favourite season is and odds are they will say either spring or fall.  And MRF operators would likely agree. The seasonal extremes of summer and winter in Ontario can impact material quantity, quality, movement and can have a significant financial impact on programs. Summer Summer months pose fewer […]

The CIF has heard you ask for more depot resources, guidance and expertise so we’ve upgraded our Center of Excellence – Depot pages, in a way that all connects together and allows you to drill down into the details of the topic that you want without having to read through massive amounts of other information. […]

The new public space recycling and signage page features a lot of great information for you laid out in a convenient, drill-down format. When you go to the page, simply click Read More below the button on the topic that interests you to jump to the detailed information you need. (Note – the buttons are not clickable on […]

Convincing residents in multi-residential (MR) buildings to recycle is a challenge, getting them to recycle right can be even harder, but - as City of Ottawa staff have demonstrated, that doesn't mean you want to stop trying. The issue In 2015, staff approached CIF with a proposal to try a novel approach to MR P&E. [...]

Is a compactor right for you? With shipping costs consuming much of a small depot program’s recycling budget, operators need to consider alternative ways to manage these costs. For programs that ship numerous loads or haul recyclables over long distances, compactors can reduce hauling costs by as much as 60-80%. CIF’s new Depot Compactor Guide new Depot Compactor Guide is the […]

Managers of municipal curbside collection programs often have a hard time gathering accurate information about collection routes and services provided at various locations. This issue is even more difficult in areas with seasonal populations and leads to challenges reporting out in the WDO datacall. In many cases, the use of GPS locators on collection fleets […]

An estimated 10 billion pounds of plastic film enter North America annually and residents want to recycle it. CIF consulted with Nina Butler of Moore Recycling Associates for her expertise on how best to recycle plastic film. She provided insights on best practices from collection and processing through to end market development and the pros […]

Peel Region transitioned from Blue Box collection to an automated cart-based collection system in January 2016. Cart-based service offers residents more storage capacity for recyclables between collections and allows the Region to collect recyclables every other week rather than weekly. While the roll out to roughly 300,000 households was one of the largest and most […]

For most programs, collecting quality recyclables from multi-residential (MR) buildings is still a big hill to climb, despite efforts to increase convenience and capacity and communicate effectively. The question remains: is it best to use technology to clean up materials at the MRF or can we change behaviour with P&E and enforcement? With more than […]