Thanks to your support in 2020!

RCO General Meeting & Policy Forum

by Textile Waste Diversion Inc.

policy-makersYesterday we had the pleasure of attending the Recycling Council of Ontario Annual General Meeting and Policy Forum on the proposed changes to the Waste Diversion Act.

We were fortunate to have representatives of the four major political parties present to offer their party stance on the proposed changes, which gave us a well rounded opinion set and much to think about!

Except for The Conservative Party of Canada that favours abolishing the act, as well as Bill 91, the other parties agreed that Bill 91 has considerable merit, and could be improved once it gets to committee. The general consensus is that it should pass in The House of Commons to committee where the issues in the act can be resolved.

One thing was certain, everyone, including the Conservative Party, are aware that improving waste management is a priority not just for Ontario, but for all of Canada.  Everyone may have different ideas on how that should be accomplished, but the fact that everyone is on board to make waste reduction/diversion a priority was very encouraging.

We agree with the Honourable Jim Bradley, our Environment Minister when he said “Ontario’s recycling rates have languished for too long.” We can see however, from the policy discussion in the room, that its not only party leaders that are adamant to increase our waste diversion rate, industries are on board to pitch in as well.

It’s not just about reducing landfills either, although that is the driving force behind Bill 91.

The economic potential when we prioritize harnessing the value of waste is astounding. Mike Shreiner, the leader of Ontario’s Green Party reminded us that for every dollar invested in waste diversion creates 7 jobs, compared to one job when waste is dumped instead.

One of the highlights of the event was a stakeholder roundtable discussion about Bill 91 from industry leaders like:

Christine Bome: Director, Government Affairs, Wal-Mart Canada
Rob Cook: CEO, Ontario Waste Management Association
John Coyne: Vice-President, Corporate Secretary and General Counsel, Unilever Canada
Mirka Januszkiewicz: Director, Waste Management, Region of Durham
Norman Lee: Director, Waste Management, Region of Peel
Candice Malcolm: Ontario Director, Canadian Taxpayers Federation
David Moran: Director, Public Affairs and Communications, Coca-Cola Canada
Jay Stanford: Director, Environment, Fleet & Solid Waste, City of London

They gave us a very thorough analysis on how the bill could be improved, but also about all the potential it holds. One thing is for sure, the panel was very passionate about the environment in general, and waste reduction.

It’s a good thing too, because a reporter for a national environmental magazine commented that compared to the rest of Canada, reporting on Ontario environmental initiatives was “depressing.”

One of the many highlights of the event was a speech by Mr. Arno Rasek presenting on behalf of the Bundeskartellamt (Germany’s Antitrust Enforcement.) Our favourite moment was when someone asked him about how Germany handles waste that has a “negative value.” He said that in Germany, there is no such thing as waste that has a negative value.

It all comes down to investment in green tech solutions to waste management!

Also cool: Did you know that Coca Cola is developing plastic bottles that are plant based instead of oil based? We LOVED that!

Also, a special shout out to Region of Durham. While the rest of the province averages about 24% waste diversion rate, the region of Durham is already at an impressive 54% Bravo!!

What does the Recycling Council Of Ontario think about Bill 91? All the details are here:

https://www.rco.on.ca/rco-submission-on-proposed-waste-reduction-act

20200

Packaging and trash

Out of every $10 spent buying things, $1 (10%) goes for packaging that is thrown away. Packaging represents about 65% of household trash.

 

Save the trees

If every American recycled just one-tenth of their newspapers, we would save about 25,000,000 trees a year.

 

In the bin!

Used aluminum beverage cans are the most recycled item in the U.S., but other types of aluminum, such as siding, gutters, car components, storm window frames, and lawn furniture can also be recycled.

 

Kiss this!

An estimated 80,000,000 Hershey's Kisses are wrapped each day, using enough aluminum foil to cover over 50 acres of space -- that's almost 40 football fields. All that foil is recyclable, but not many people realize it.

Packaging at the dump

About one-third of an average garbage dump is made up of packaging material!

Glass skyscrapers?

Every month, we throw out enough glass bottles and jars to fill up a giant skyscraper. All of these jars are recyclable!

Plastic bottles by the hour

Americans use 2,500,000 plastic bottles every hour! Most of them are thrown away!

The Sunday paper

To produce each week's Sunday newspapers, 500,000 trees must be cut down.

The aluminum recycling loop

A used aluminum can is recycled and back on the grocery shelf as a new can in as little as 60 days. That's closed loop recycling at its finest!

 

What gets recycled in Canada?

By weight, organics comprise the largest portion, accounting for 22% of recycled materials from all sources, followed by newsprint (17%) and cardboard and boxboard (17%).

Recycling by the Province

While on the rise overall, recycling varies quite widely from province to province. Ontario and Quebec recycle the largest quantities of materials, but the amounts of material recycled per person and the recycling rate are higher in Nova Scotia and British Columbia.

Canadian vs. American residential waste

Canadians produced 366 kg per person of residential waste in 2020; by 2020, this figure had increased to 418 kg per person. By way of comparison, residential waste production by our neighbours in the United States was 440 kg per person in 2020.

   

Canadian waste

In 2020, Canadian households produced 13.4 million tonnes of waste. Nearly three-quarters (73%) of this waste was sent for disposal, according to Statistics Canada’s 2020 Waste Management Survey, while the rest was recycled.

A great reason to recycle!

Landfills produce approximately 25% of Canada’s methane emissions (methane is a powerful greenhouse gas). Recycling, including textile recycling, can help reduce the amount of waste entering landfills and help conserve natural resources.

How much water do ice caps and glaciers hold?

The amount of water locked up in ice and snow is only about 1.7 percent of all water on Earth, but the majority of total freshwater on Earth, about 68.7%, is held in ice caps and glaciers.

How much recyclable material gets thrown away?

Paper is the number one recyclable material that we throw away. For every 100 pounds of trash we throw away, 35 pounds is paper. Americans throw away 25 billion Styrofoam coffee cups every year, 40 billion soft drink cans and bottles every year, and 38 billion plastic bags. Placed end to end, they would reach to the moon and back hundreds of times.

 

How much household waste can be recycled?

Over 80% of typical household waste - including food scraps, yard waste, paper, cardboard, cans, and bottles - can be recycled, reused, or composted.

How much carbon dioxide can a car emit?

On average, a car produces about 170g CO2 per kilometer. If your car travels 2020 kilometers per month, it produces about 340 kilograms CO2 - that's a lot of carbon dioxide!

How much harm can one styrofoam cup do?

A styrofoam cup contains one billion billion CFC molecules - a class of chemical compounds that deplete ozone. Once a CFC molecule reaches the ozone layer, it can take over 100 years before it breaks up and becomes harmless!

How many trees are cut down each year?

In 2020 statistics, primary forest area was reduced globally by 60,000 square km per year (about the size of Ireland). While it's impossible to get an exact count, at a rate of 50K to 100K trees per square km, this equates to 3 to 6 billion trees per year.

Worldwide Metals Production

Between 2020 and 2020, worldwide metals production grew sixfold, oil consumption eightfold, and natural gas consumption 14-fold. In total, 60 billion tons of resources are now extracted annually—about 50% more than just 30 years ago. Today the average European uses 43 kilograms of resources daily, and the average American uses 88 kilograms.