Overhaul of blue box program will save millions each year in London

Overhaul of London blue box program Responsibility for blue box program is changing, but what happens at the curb will remain the same. Daryl Newcombe reports.

Responsibility for blue box program is changing, but what happens at the curb will remain the same.

On Monday, the Civic Works Committee was told London is on track to shift most of the cost of curbside blue box recycling to the industries responsible for producing the packaging materials.

“Negotiations have gone very well and we’re moving into the final stages,” said Jay Stanford, director of climate change, environment, and waste management.

Province-wide changes will see manufacturers of waste take on a greater share of the cost to operate the blue box recycling program.

Currently, city hall splits the curbside program with producers 50-50.

The new producer-pay model will see the municipal share dip below 10 per cent by 2026.

A staff report stated “preliminary estimates suggest that between $1.5 million and potentially in excess of $4 million per year in 2026 could be saved.”

Under the new producer-pay model, curbside collection will continue to be done by Miller Waste Management.

Municipal equipment for sorting and bundling recyclables at the material recovery facility on Manning Drive will be sold to the private operator and the building will be leased from the city.

However, getting the producer-pay blue box system to align to London’s plan to implement same-day garbage collection later this year remains a work in progress.

“We believe it’s advantageous for additional frequency to be provided here in London,” Stanford told the committee. “The question will be who pays for that and that will be the subject of negotiations over the next couple weeks.”

“I really hope that those negotiations are pressed very aggressively,” replied Coun. Sam Trosow. “(So) that the result of those negotiations does not eat into the surplus that you anticipate.”

With manufacturers soon to be picking up most of the tab, there is expected to be greater incentive to minimize packaging and use more easily recycled materials.

Stanford added that there will be no noticeable change for homeowners.

“This is meant to be seamless to the residents of London,” he said.