CIF Connections Blog

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 [...]

19Jul

City of Cornwall Shows It’s Possible to Establish a Beneficial Contract, Even in Uncertain Times

Photo courtesy of City of Cornwall The prospect of a new collection and processing contract is always going to be daunting. This process is compounded during times of uncertainty and impending regulatory change. Under Project 1075, the City of Cornwall (City) obtained assistance from the CIF to create a new collection and processing RFP, which represents the City’s single largest municipal contract. The goal of the RFP was to facilitate desired program development and at the same time, prepare the [...]

28Jun

Digital Communication: Can It Help Municipalities Change Resident Set out Behaviours?

Using digital media to get a message out is a relatively new practice for municipalities Over the last few years, groups have tested their hand at communicating through social media and other digital media platforms. What we’ve learned is that digital media, while allowing for faster circulation of our ‘calls to action’, still requires just as much planning and forethought, perhaps more so than traditional media. The audiences we’re speaking to have so many options when it comes to where to [...]

21Jun

Four Townships and a County: A Waste Management Review

In late 2017, the municipalities of Frontenac County set about with the support of Cambium Inc. to complete a “Made in Frontenac” approach, position and financial plan, to solid waste management. The municipalities comprised the Townships of Central Frontenac, Frontenac Islands, North Frontenac and South Frontenac. This was an important step for the municipalities in their goal to take control of their destiny by working closely together and being open to new approaches to solid waste management. The thought process [...]

07Jun

CIF’s Three Year Strategic Plan Finalized and Awaiting Approval

Last August, the CIF initiated consultation toward developing a new three year Strategic Plan. The goal was to ensure that CIF services continue to meet the needs of municipalities and other stakeholders in light of the current challenges facing the Blue Box Program. After significant input from a broad range of stakeholders, CIF Committee resolved to finalize the plan in May of this year and forward it on to RPRA for final approval. Day to day, Ontario Blue Box program [...]

31May

Ontario Recycler Workshop Resources: Available for a limited time

This year marked the 25th time that municipal staff and other experts stepped up to share their up to the minute insights on issues facing the Blue Box program service providers at the Ontario Recycler Workshop (ORW). Each speaker carefully crafted presentations to ensure that the full house of participants would walk away armed with guidance and ideas to implement as soon as they arrived back to their home sites. We thank every speaker for your hard work and [...]

24May

A Major Ontario Municipality’s Cost Benefit Analysis for Curbside Waste Collection Policies

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 the most effective curbside waste collection policy(ies) to help increase waste diversion and reduce the amount of residential garbage sent to landfill, while also considering [...]

10May

CIF launches new toolkit that simplifies full cost accounting for Ontario recycling programs

As existing diversion programs in Ontario begin transitioning to Individual Producer Responsibility (IPR), the importance of understanding the financial impact of these changes to municipalities is becoming increasingly clear. When Blue Box Program transition occurs, municipal staff will need to be prepared to inform their council of the service level and budgetary implications of turning over their recycling programs to producers or staying on as a service provider. This week’s blog provides a high-level overview of how small (and potentially [...]