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...
Promotion & Education (P&E) is important because, done well, it can secure public support and help ensure the success of Blue Box recycling programs. Here’s a closer look at a P&E strategy that the City of London has undertaken. When the Corporation launched a YouTube Channel they began posting educational videos...
Clarke Robot sorting cartons @ 60 picks/minute with permission of AMP Robotics For those of us old enough to remember where it all started, sorting lines consisted of simple conveyors and human fingers guided by human eyes, but things have changed. Eddy currents, magnets and optical sorters do a lot of...
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...
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...
Aluminum bale prepared for market After completing an efficiency and effectiveness audit on its container line in 2014, the City of Hamilton set to work on implementing a series of changes and upgrades to improve its capture rates and revenue earning potential. The study (CIF Project 816.3) estimated that the City of...
Procurement and contracting is difficult and time-consuming at any time, and especially as we await implementation of EPR in Ontario. For several years, CIF has offered resources to help waste management staff develop functional and competitive procurement documents for contracting recycling services. But a great deal has changed for recycling in...
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...
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...
Last fall, the CIF posted an article entitled “Understanding How Program Costs and Recovery Have Changed Over Time” authored by Dr. Calvin Lakhan of York University. The purpose of the article was to invite discussion on the limits of the research before drawing conclusions, and give thought to the issues being raised,...
At its November 2016 meeting CIF Committee approved the CIF’s 2017 Operations Plan. The Plan is intended to meet the CIF’s obligations under its Three-Year Strategic Plan (2016-2018) while building on past successes and addressing priorities identified by the fund’s stakeholders. This year’s Plan also recognizes that legislative changes introduced...
On November 30, 2016, Waste Diversion Ontario transitioned to the Resource Productivity and Recovery Authority (RPRA) proclaimed as part of the new Waste-Free Ontario Act, 2016 that received Royal Assent in June. This means that RPRA, a new oversight, compliance, and enforcement organization, is now in operation under the direction...
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...
The Township of Algonquin Highlands installed compactors at its Dorset Drop-off Transfer Site to manage material from its two stream blue box program as a part of CIF project 840. Reflecting on results from these and similar projects, and the new Compactor Guide, our team wanted to highlight two important areas...
The London MRF opened in August 2011 with several features that have contributed to its effective and efficient operation. From the outset, staff knew it was important to recognize the mix of materials coming through the facility would change and likely design modifications would be required over time. With this...
