CIF Connections Blog

01Nov

Doing battle with contamination? Peel Region just completed a study on gravity locks you need to read!

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 from placing large contaminants in the bins. Bagged materials, both garbage bags and small grocery bags, make up a significant part of the contamination category in [...]

24Oct

Unit Count Studies for Program and Transitional Planning: A Review of Two Methods

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, or for programs that aim to move from a per tonne to a per unit-based system but don’t have a good understanding of the [...]

04Oct

Maintaining Efficiency & Effectiveness (E&E) with a payback of 2.2 years

Working through contract renewals while awaiting transition Glass breaker screen to remove glass from system early. The Region of Durham’s Material Recovery Facility (MRF) operating and maintenance contract was set to end, while at the same time the facility was struggling to accommodate an increased volume of inbound containers. The facility, which opened in 2007, was designed to manage a mix of materials that has changed significantly over the years. The need for additional labour to manage the increased volume of [...]

27Sep

Methodology in Northumberland County’s Segregated Glass Collection Pilot

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, residents were encouraged to only put the box out when it was at least half full. For 10 weeks out of the pilot duration, the [...]

13Sep

Understanding Flexible Packaging for Recycling

Examples of Flexible Packaging Formats (source: PAC) Flexible packaging has seen tremendous growth globally, with an annual growth rate of 3.8% within North America alone. It can be found in a vast array of shapes and sizes containing a wide array of products such as coffee, laundry detergent, baby food, cat litter, single-serve juices, motor oil, toothpaste and even more. Packages can be made with a single layer, a mono-material laminate (i.e. multiple layers from the same polymer) or the [...]

06Sep

Town of Hearst improves diversion and contain costs in a small municipal program

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 directions to improve their diversion rates The end date for their current garbage collection contract was fast approaching The Town of Hearst is located on [...]

28Aug

Curotto Cans: Technology Helps Guelph Cost-Effectively Improve Diversion

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 automated hopper that fits on to the front forks of an FEL truck. An automated arm extends off the side of the hopper where it can grab [...]

23Aug

The City of Barrie’s Scenario Impact Analysis in Preparation for Transition

Recycling at the City of Barrie's waterfront After much anticipation, the Ministry of Environment, Conservation and Parks (MECP) has announced next steps related to Ontario’s Blue Box Program. The MECP has indicated that over the next six years, Stewardship Ontario (SO) will be required to develop a transition plan, in consultation with municipalities and other key stakeholders, that will see producers take over full control and funding of the Blue Box program by the end of 2025. While this announcement provides [...]

01Aug

Public Space Recycling – A Review of Better Practices

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 identified a number of ‘better practices’ related to public space recycling. These recommendations are based on research from more than 20 CIF-funded projects where municipalities [...]

25Jul

Time to Tender or Extend

The potential for the Blue Box Program to transition at any time to an Individual Producer Responsibility (IPR) system has put pressure on municipal staff and contractors to manage contracted operations significantly beyond their original terms. Repeated contract extensions have pushed contractors to operate their equipment well into the late stages of its lifespan at a time when equipment upgrades are required to address new market standards. In other instances, the terms and conditions that were set in contracts [...]