The Minister of the Environment and Climate Change, Glen Murray, told the Canadian Waste to Resources conference this week that he would have a new Waste Diversion law introduced into the Legislature, and passed, in 2015. Hopefully, it will clean up many of the drafting and design problems that bedevil the current Waste Diversion Act, 2002, as well as finally implementing the move to Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) that his predecessors have been calling for since 2008. We hear that his Ministry has intensive stakeholder consultations underway, and is collecting data on links between waste diversion and climate change.
Meanwhile, yes, we are still waiting for the decision of arbitrator Robert Armstrong in the arbitration over Blue Box funding for 2014. No decision date is yet available. The decision could have an important influence on the new waste law, as well as on next year’s municipal budgets and on fees charged to stewards.
At the invitation of the Ontario Waste Management Association, Dianne spoke at the conference yesterday, giving her personal take on the arbitration. At the request of several readers, here is her presentation: Blue Box arbitration personal take.