Plans for waste

On February 8 my Environment Action group met Rachael Jones, Project Manager of the Solid Waste Master Plan for the City of Ottawa. She told us that the rapid increase of waste in today’s world requires urgent action at all levels of society. A circular economy is a guiding concept for Ottawa, that’s now aspiring to attain zero waste by 2050. At present we are a long way from that visionary goal. To reach it, everyone’s attitudes and behaviour must change; citizens must realize that 58% of the garbage currently being thrown into landfills could be repurposed or recycled instead; packaging must be drastically reduced; companies using recyclable materials for their products must take responsibility for collecting the contents of blue boxes; construction companies must be consulted and must collaborate with the city.

In Canada, a federal ban on single-use plastics is coming soon. When food companies take responsibility for the waste they generate, as will have to happen, the blue-box collection system is likely to be privatized or partly privatized. Municipal, provincial and federal authorities will work on better enforcement of new and existing regulations. Rachael gave an example of how law-enforcement does not need to be harsh: a courteous note left in someone’s blue box advising the owner to leave the right kinds of material for the next collection is proven to be effective. Because many residential blocks in Ottawa do not have a green bin collection service, only 17% of compostable waste is currently recycled; the province will bring in legislation obliging landlords to give this more thought. The conversion of waste to energy, or for agricultural purposes, is a big component of the city’s plans, so many recycling technologies, including experimental chemical methods, will be under consideration during Phase 2 (the present phase) and Phase 3 of the City’s Master Plan. However it is always better to reduce the amount of waste we generate in the first place, or to try to reuse what we have, than to recycle.

The City of Ottawa’s waste-management services have made much information publically available. The Solid Waste Master Plan page on the Engage Ottawa website is the best place to start researching this. We are encouraged send our comments, and Rachael also offered to answer our questions personally.