OWMA staff and members met last week with the Ministry of the Environment and Climate Change (MOECC) to present the association’s recommendations for a new used-tires regulation under the Resource Recovery and Circular Economy Act (RRCEA).
The OWMA’s draft recommendations, which were developed by the association’s Used Tires Caucus, were well received by MOECC officials and will serve as the foundation for our efforts to reform the province’s e-waste, household hazardous materials, and printed paper and packaging programs.
In early May, the Ministry will be holding broader consultations to provide stakeholders with an overview of the key components of the government’s planned used-tires regulation while gathering feedback that will help to refine and improve this proposal.
This plan keeps the government on track with its timeline to wind up the province’s existing waste diversion programs and industry funding organizations (IFOs), such as Ontario Tire Stewardship (OTS).
On February 17, 2017, the Minister sent a letter to OTS, requiring it to submit a plan to the Resource Productivity and Recovery Authority to wind up the used-tires program and IFO by Oct. 31, 2017.
According to the Minister’s directions, the organization and program must be fully wound up by Dec. 31, 2018, so that the government can implement a new producer responsibility regulation for used tires under the RRCEA.