Reducing Contamination (or at least trying…) Nadine Kerr City of Toronto MWA Spring Workshop May 2018

MWA Spring Workshop May 2018 Contamination in the City of Toronto Blue Bin Contamination has been trending upward since 2013. In 2017, about 25% of material in the Blue Bin was contamination. Trending over 27% in 2018. MWA Spring Workshop May 2018

MWA Spring Workshop May 2018 Contamination Trend Overall trend is increasing Somewhat cyclical – lower in December, jumps up in January after Christmas then slowly declines Based on 75 to 100 audits per month MWA Spring Workshop May 2018

MWA Spring Workshop May 2018 Contamination at a Glance There are many challenges with respect to increasing contamination: Increasingly complex recycling programs Evolving product packaging Stricter material quality requirements Delays in adopting an Extended Producer Responsibility Model Inconsistency in recycling programs; and, Overall consumer confusion and recycling habits MWA Spring Workshop May 2018

MWA Spring Workshop May 2018 Common Types of Contamination MWA Spring Workshop May 2018

MWA Spring Workshop May 2018 Reducing Contamination Tactics Ongoing Education: Guides published in 18 different languages; Annual Waste Calendars; Online Waste Wizard; Multi-million dollar campaigns (“Recycle Right”); and, Wide array of other engagement activities. MWA Spring Workshop May 2018

MWA Spring Workshop May 2018 Reducing Contamination Tactics (cont’d) Monitoring and Enforcement (Single Family): Direct Resident Interaction at Curbside Curbside Bin Inspections (Lid Lifts and Bin Empty’s to check – 3% vs. 25%) Tagging and Bin Rejections (Initial Pilot showed great success - 85% improvement) “Cost Recovery” Invoicing (Planned for Future) 1) Ongoing Education Solid Waste Management Services offers a variety of educational resources and accessible media: Blue Bin & Green Bin Guides published in 18 different languages; Annual Recycling Calendars; Online Waste Wizard; and, Education Campaigns 2) Monitoring & Enforcement In 2017, Solid Waste Management Services further expanded monitoring and enforcement through a Pilot Program for Single Family Homes, where staff visually inspected bins and tagged any with excess contamination. Originally it was found that only 3% of bins were contaminated Upon closer inspection it was found that the contamination was actually buried deeper in the Bin with contamination rates closer to 25%. Some addresses that were visited a second time, showed a significant improvement after refusal to collect, and the pilot will continue through 2018. Since late 2017, when we notice significant contamination in front-end loads we collect and charge those as garbage, as opposed to recycling. In 2017, we visited about 24,000 sites and found that roughly 16% had contaminated Blue Bins. MWA Spring Workshop May 2018

MWA Spring Workshop May 2018 Reducing Contamination Tactics (cont’d) Monitoring and Enforcement (Multi-Family): Direct Property Manager/Superintendent Interaction Direct Tenant Interaction (where possible) Bin Inspections, Tagging and Bin Rejections Invoicing for Contaminated Recycling Lifts Results: Some buildings have improved performance to reduce increased costs. Some buildings continue to setout contaminated material and will pay additional costs rather than improve performance. 1) Ongoing Education Solid Waste Management Services offers a variety of educational resources and accessible media: Blue Bin & Green Bin Guides published in 18 different languages; Annual Recycling Calendars; Online Waste Wizard; and, Education Campaigns 2) Monitoring & Enforcement In 2017, Solid Waste Management Services further expanded monitoring and enforcement through a Pilot Program for Single Family Homes, where staff visually inspected bins and tagged any with excess contamination. Originally it was found that only 3% of bins were contaminated Upon closer inspection it was found that the contamination was actually buried deeper in the Bin with contamination rates closer to 25%. Some addresses that were visited a second time, showed a significant improvement after refusal to collect, and the pilot will continue through 2018. Since late 2017, when we notice significant contamination in front-end loads we collect and charge those as garbage, as opposed to recycling. In 2017, we visited about 24,000 sites and found that roughly 16% had contaminated Blue Bins. MWA Spring Workshop May 2018

MWA Spring Workshop May 2018 Reducing Contamination: Potential Future Options Exploring and/or fostering alternative markets and strategies Additional Cost recovery and Bylaw enforcement measures Exploring mixed waste processing alternatives Continue pushing to advance Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) in Ontario (or Toronto) MWA Spring Workshop May 2018

MWA Spring Workshop May 2018 Contact Information: Nadine Kerr Manager, Processing Operations Solid Waste Management Services\ Nadine.Kerr@toronto.ca Jim McKay General Manager Solid Waste Management Services Jim.McKay3@toronto.ca MWA Spring Workshop May 2018