resource recovery

Changes are being proposed to the Resource Recovery and Circular Economy Act, 2016 (RRCEA) that affect the Resource Productivity and Recovery Authority (RPRA). The Ministry of Government and Consumer Services (MGCS) introduced the Rebuilding Consumer Confidence Act (the Bill) to propose legislative amendments to modernize the governance, accountability and transparency of Administrative Authorities overseen by MGCS.

As part of this Bill, and in order to align with proposed changes by MGCS, the Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks is proposing changes to the Resource Recovery and Circular Economy Act, 2016 (RRCEA) that would affect the governance of the Authority. Most of the changes proposed by MGCS are already in place in the RRCEA, and therefore only a few additional changes are being proposed at this time to keep the governance and oversight frameworks aligned and to continue to reflect best practices for administrative authorities.

The changes are as follows:

1. The Minister can appoint a Chair from among the members of the Authority’s Board.
2. The Minister can request disclosure of compensation information from among the Authority’s board of directors, officers and employees.
3. The requirement to table the Authority’s annual report in the Legislative Assembly has been removed (but the Authority must continue to post the report on their website by the annual deadline of June 1).

OWMA is concerned with the ability of the Minister to appoint the Chair of RPRA and the potential for a stakeholder-aligned individual to be appointed. RPRA has been under attack from EPR producer groups over recent months and these changes could be used to reduce RPRA’s oversight of EPR programs and the ability of RPRA to enforce and hold parties accountable.

Bill132 received royal assent on December 10^th, 2019 thereby confirming the expansion of the mandate of the Resource Productivity & Recovery Authority (RPRA) by amendment to the Resource Recovery and Circular Economy Act (RRCEA) to include data collection and digital reporting services. Bill 132 also amends the Waste Diversion Transition Act, 2016 (WDTA) to allow surplus Industry Funding Organization (IFO) funds to be transferred to RPRA.

The amendments to the RRCEA will facilitate the transfer and administration of a new HWIN system under the Authority. This is a significant change with the opportunity to move the manifesting and tracking of hazardous waste to an electronic system providing efficiencies and cost savings to both industry and government. RPRA is awaiting the direction from the Ministry regarding moving forward on HWIN.

The provincial government recently informed stakeholders that it’s no longer a question of if Ontario will pursue a disposal ban for organic waste; it’s a question of when.

This policy direction was emphasized at a recent meeting in Toronto where producers, consultants, waste management professionals and municipal officials gathered to discuss food waste prevention and recovery. 

Following the meeting, the government issued a Request for Proposals (RFP) on April 27, to find a consultant who can assess the impacts of a disposal ban in Ontario.

The disposal ban will play a key role in the province’s Food and Organic Waste Action Plan, which the government committed to developing in the Strategy for a Waste-Free Ontario.

The RFP states that a potential disposal ban would:

• Require generators, including restaurants, households and food processing facilities, to separate organic waste; and,
• Ensure organic waste is sent to a facility for composting, anaerobic digestion, rendering or conversion to biofuels; or is managed through on-site composting.

The government has stated it intends to soon release a draft discussion paper on organic waste, as well as post a disposal ban proposal on the Environmental Registry in autumn.

In light of this development, the Ministry of the Environment and Climate Change will bring together stakeholders for a fourth working group meeting on May 11 to provide an update and discuss Organic Materials Diversion. The meeting was to focus solely on organic waste processing capacity, but that topic will now be examined in more detail at a later date.