Reaching for Sustainability: A Proposal for a National Stewardship Model

Summer 1997 | Table of Contents

Reaching for Sustainability: A Proposal for
a National Stewardship Model

This proposal presents a step-by-step route that would permit municipal taxpayers to be financially unburdened and allow municipalities to put a structure in place that would allow local control of the total solid waste management process. Municipalities would have an elected body to carry out their own preferred system. Citizens would have a say in the system they wanted. They would also have the cost consequences of their actions in their own hands.

Step 1 Identify Solid Waste Management costs on Municipal Tax Bills.

Step 2 Remove Solid Waste Management from the Municipal Property Tax Base.

Step 3 Establish a fee for service basis to be paid by each generator for Integrated Waste Management Services (IWMS).

Step 4 Each IC&I Operation would be treated as a householder, unless the operator provides verification that they are providing their own IWMS.

Step 5 Establish an elected IWMS body to be structured within each municipality to carry out our IWMS. (This could be rolled into existing commissions which provide hydro, water, sewage and other fee for service tangible community services.)

Step 6
The elected IWMS body would provide for, at a minimum:

waste disposal
short lived goods destined for Recycling
composting of yard waste and other organics
long lived durable goods for Recycling
hazardous household waste management

Step 7 IWMS to be carried out at Provincially certified landfill sites for Disposal and to approved End-Market uses for all other services.

Step 8 IWMS to be tendered by a minimum of three bidders from the Public or Private sector who are certified Waste Haulers.

Step 9 IWMS to be financially self sustaining on a three year rolling accounting basis for net operating costs of collection, processing, disposal and landfill operations. Capital costs for equipment, landfill development and closure, if any, to be depreciated over standard accounting periods, but the annualized charges to be included in operating costs.

Another PMI Challenge

We would like you to share your thoughts with us on the proposed National Stewardship Model. You may recall this scanning procedure from the June 1993 edition of GlassWorks/ Recy-Verre. We've repeated these instructions below.

PMI is a simple scanning procedure.

It allows the reader to think about an idea in an objective fashion, regardless of whether the reader likes or dislikes the concept.

`P' stands for plus.

Scan the concept for all the positive, or PLUS POINTS. What are all the good things about this model? Once you are satisfied that the PLUS POINTS have been listed, change the direction.

`M' stands for minus.

Scan the concept for all the MINUS POINTS, or negatives. What are all the negative things about this model? Once you are satisfied with the direction, look in one more direction, to `I' , which stands for the interesting points.

The INTERESTING POINTS are neither bad nor good, but they are worth noting.

Assigning a specific direction to each scan may assist you in the process. Try north for PLUS POINTS, south for MINUS POINTS, and east or west for INTERESTING POINTS. Send your comments to Glass Works.

For a copy of the Guiding Principles for Packaging Stewardship, May 1996, contact: CCME Documents c/o Manitoba Statutory Publications. Phone (204) 945-4664 or Fax (204) 945-7172.

Angus Reid Highlights

Overall, people are committed to recycling in Ontario...

88% of Ontarians recycle at home.

Of those that recycle...

95% would be concerned if the Blue Box program were to no longer exist. Most feel the Blue Box is more convenient than a Deposit Program (86%) and that the Blue Box program is better than Deposit for the environment (48% vs. 41% respectively).
77% would be willing to pay more money to maintain the Blue Box system if revenues could not cover the cost of the program.

In this issue:

Packaging Stewardship ...
The Road to Sustainability: The Response Able Route
Who's Responsible?
Reaching for Sustainability: A Proposal for a National Stewardship Model
Doug's Page: Recycled Content -- A Sustainable Goal

Glass Works is a publication of Consumers Glass

Step 1	Identify Solid Waste Management costs on Municipal Tax Bills.
Step 2	Remove Solid Waste Management from the Municipal Property Tax Base.
Step 3	Establish a fee for service basis to be paid by each generator for Integrated Waste Management Services (IWMS).
Step 4	Each IC&I Operation would be treated as a householder, unless the operator provides verification that they are providing their own IWMS.
Step 5	Establish an elected IWMS body to be structured within each municipality to carry out our IWMS. (This could be rolled into existing commissions which provide hydro, water, sewage and other fee for service tangible community services.)
Step 6	The elected IWMS body would provide for, at a minimum: waste disposal short lived goods destined for Recycling composting of yard waste and other organics long lived durable goods for Recycling hazardous household waste management
Step 7	IWMS to be carried out at Provincially certified landfill sites for Disposal and to approved End-Market uses for all other services.
Step 8	IWMS to be tendered by a minimum of three bidders from the Public or Private sector who are certified Waste Haulers.
Step 9	IWMS to be financially self sustaining on a three year rolling accounting basis for net operating costs of collection, processing, disposal and landfill operations. Capital costs for equipment, landfill development and closure, if any, to be depreciated over standard accounting periods, but the annualized charges to be included in operating costs.