Strengthening Producer Responsibility

Effective policies like Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) are vital tools to redesign markets and reassign end-of-life management of products and packaging to producers and first sellers. We have been at the forefront of advocating for and implementing EPR as a critical policy intervention for Ontario’s transition to a circular economy.

Ontario’s Blue Box program has been a cornerstone of the province’s waste management and recycling efforts. Maintaining its current trajectory and fostering further innovation are vital for Ontario’s environmental and economic future. The Blue Box program not only helps reduce waste and environmental impact but also creates opportunities for innovation in recycling technologies and sustainable materials management. These initiatives can generate new economic opportunities, support green jobs, and demonstrate Ontario’s commitment to environmental leadership. Undermining or significantly altering the Blue Box program at this critical juncture would jeopardize these benefits and impede our progress toward a broader circular economy.

Local governments and producers have collaborated for over a decade to transition to full producer responsibility. This regressive step is unfair to all stakeholders, particularly Ontario municipalities and the materials management industry, which have been managing the finances and making investments to prepare for this transition. Almost all other Provinces have been able to maintain and or increase their collection and recycling targets under the same conditions (high inflation, labour shortages and supply chain bottlenecks for infrastructure) as Ontario.