Delegation ­ Peel Regional Council ­ October 8 2015 Peel Waste Diversion Strategy & Energy Recovery Centre

My name is Emily Alfred, I’m a Sr Campaigner at the Environmental Alliance (TEA), a grassroots environmental organization with more than 50,000 supporters. As TEA’s Waste Campaigner, I educate, research and advocate on waste policy and strategy at the municipal level and provincial level.

I’m here to speak to Peel Council to share my knowledge and thoughts on waste diversion, to mention some key points about Provincial policy, and to encourage you to push for higher waste diversion in Peel.

The most important message: higher diversion is very possible. The Council­approved target of diverting 60% of waste by 2034 is far too low. But so is the staff­recommended target of 65% by 2034 When thinking about diversion targets, it’s important to remember that this strategy is looking twenty years into the future ­ this is a time to have a vision and a goal for the future of Peel. Think about the legacy you want to leave.

The staff report shows the diversion target of a few select GTA municipalities, however here are the actual diversion rates for the top 20 municipalities in as reported to Waste Diversion

Ontario:

Source: WDO Municipal Datacall 2013 ​ City of (69.15%) City of Orillia (63.75%) Municipality of Meaford (61.11%) Region of York (58.58%) City of Owen Sound (58.30%) Township of West Grey (57.79%) County of Simcoe (55.73%) City of Kingston (55.60%) County of Oxford (55.07%) City of Peterborough (54.71%) Township of Dysart et al (54.66%) Region of Halton (54.60%) Region of Durham (53.75%) (53.68%) Town of Latchford (53.38%) Township of Madawaska Valley (53.16%) City of Toronto (52.63%) Municipality of Grey Highlands (52.59%) Region of Waterloo (52.28%) Region of Niagara (51.77%) Many of these municipalities are above 60% or 55% ­ and expect to reach 60% in the next few years. Toronto’s single family homes are at 66% diversion right now (our overall diversion is lower because apartments only got Green Bins last year)

If Peel is aiming for 60, 65% or even 70% in 2034 means that Peel wants to be where some cities are heading right now ­ but 20 years late. I think Peel can do better.

Too many recyclables in the garbage bag We studied Toronto’s waste audit numbers and found that most of what people are putting in the garbage could easily be diverted.

The numbers for Peel are the same. The Peel waste disposal study, and this diagram from the staff presentation show it. (page 6.1­55): After people use their green bin and blue bin, ​ ​ most of what they put in their garbage bin is organic or recyclable waste. ­­ This is what Peel is spending money to landfill, or would be sending to an expensive incinerator.

This is a big opportunity ­ what’s left in the garbage bag ​ isn’t complicated waste, or waste that is ‘unrecyclable’: it’s typical blue box and green bin materials that Peel ​ already has programs for.

Higher diversion rates are possible! I’d like to share a story to show that we can get all of that getting that recyclable waste out of the garbage. This summer, I learned about an incredible building in northern Scarborough ­ this ​ ​ building really dispels the myths about recycling more.

The building is about 30 years old, it is primarily made up of new Canadians, mostly south asian, who speak about 8 different languages in the building. Over the last few years, they’ve created a steady waste education program, and they are now diverting between 80­90% of their waste! They went from 6 garbage dumpsters per week to just one per month. And it cost them nothing.

Their secret: lots of signs in different languages, they listened to the residents to make recycling easier, and they celebrate their success. They use green bins, blue bins, hazardous waste collection; they also started their own reuse program.

What this story shows is that 85% or higher diversion is possible, with typical people, who just want to do the right thing.

Provincial Policy I also want to mention some key points about Provincial waste policy. The Province is currently developing new waste policy that will dramatically impact waste management at the municipal level.

Zero Waste: Ontario is focused on creating a Circular Economy, and they are considering a goal of Zero Waste by 2050 ­ Peel should keep this in mind when considering diversion targets. (Also, just to explain, the concept of Zero Waste is an aspirational goal ­ like zero accidents or zero crime ­ but in general practice its understood to mean diverting 90­95% of waste from landfill or incinerator).

Stewardship funding & EPR: The Province is also looking at banning materials from disposal, deposit­refund regulations, and other things, but the most significant is making product stewards pay for 100% of the cost of Blue Box recycling. Right now they pay 50%, but paying 100% would essentially mean that recycling is free. That means that any recyclables in the garbage ​ ​ bag are costing even more money.

Reconsider your goal of diversion ­ if recycling is free, it makes a lot of sense to look at adding more materials to the blue box, and spending a bit of money on improving education (the cheapest form of waste management).

Move forward with diversion infrastructure There are a number of things in the staff report that identify opportunities to divert more waste.

Specifically, I encourage you to vote for building a larger recycling facility and to build the 120,000 tonne A­D unit to allow for better processing of organic waste. It will go better than you ​ think. Toronto’s Green Bin program uses the proposed anaerobic digestion technology and accepts regular plastic bags. This makes the system easier to use, and it deals with contamination. As a result, it’s participation rate is almost 90% (staff report p.6.1­56) ­ that’s one of the highest in ​ ​ .

In fact, when the Green Bin program started, Toronto underestimated interest and participation, and actually ran out of processing capacity quickly. They had to refuse to give green bins for schools and didn’t roll out green bins for apartment buildings until last year while they scrambled to build a second anaerobic digester composting unit. I encourage you to move forward with building a large A­D composting facility for Peel as soon as possible.

Conclusion I encourage you to commit to a higher waste diversion target and take diversion seriously. It is the most sustainable choice environmentally and financially. Other cities in Ontario are already diverting 60% or more of their waste. The staff report and proposed strategy will definitely increase recycling and composting, and with a few additional steps ­ like adding more materials to the blue bin, and taking another look at education, Peel can be aiming for a much more ambitious goal that you can be really proud of in 20 years.