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 resident awareness of program options and, of course, increasing capture of cleaner materials. But if your program is considering implementing a new curbside collection policy, you’ll want to assess which might best fit the needs and interests of your community.
That’s where CIF’s new Curbside Collection Policy section of the Centre of Excellence comes in handy.
Measure twice, cut once…
We’ve all heard this old adage and some of us have shared the misery of ignoring it, so we know it’s important to plan carefully before taking on new ventures. As you consider implementing a new policy to support Blue Box curbside collection, it’s critical to know what problem each policy is best designed to solve, and do your homework first.
Do you know approximately how many bags of waste your residents set out per week? This is vital input to determining the appropriate number of bags to include in a bag limit policy, both at the outset and as a target goal.
If pay as you throw (PAYT) is a good option, would partial or full PAYT be best for your community and what’s the right price point and implementation option for your residents?
Would your residents react well to the firmer limits and would they have concerns about disposing of waste in clear bags? Would these concerns be outweighed by the operational impacts such as removing recyclable items from the waste stream?
A sound basis for successful policies
With so many communities that have implemented various types of curbside collection policies there’s a wealth of valuable information that programs can draw on, either to reconsider existing policies or implement new ones. In these pages, CIF has analyzed the best available information and assembled it in a way that we hope will be very useful for Ontario recyclers in consideration of policy options. Test drive our new pages by clicking the photo below. 
As always, these pages are a work in progress and we want to know what you think. Does the information here answer your questions? Is there anything you think is missing? We always welcome your questions and your ideas: please email CIF communications