Blue Box Program Transition Plan : Stewardship Ontario

June 16/17, 2020: Rescheduled consultation webinars.
July 15, 2020: Stakeholder feedback deadline on transition plan proposals.
August 31, 2020: Blue Box Program Transition Plan due to RPRA.
December 31, 2020: Anticipated date RPRA will approve Stewardship Ontario’s Blue Box Transition Plan.

Background information

The transition of the Blue Box Program to full producer responsibility was initiated by a direction letter from the Minister of Environment, Conservation and Parks (MECP) in August, 2019, to make industry responsible for both the funding and operation of residential recycling in the province.

The Minister’s letter directs Stewardship Ontario to submit a Blue Box Program Transition Plan to the Resource Productivity and Recovery Authority (RPRA) by June 30, 2020. It is expected that RPRA will approve the plan by December 31, 2020.

Stewardship Ontario will be consulting with stakeholders on our Blue Box Transition Plan proposals before submitting the plan to RPRA. A report of how we consulted with affected stakeholders and Indigenous Peoples, as well as how we met the Minister’s consultation requirements, will be included as an appendix to the submitted plan.

Blue Box Program Transition Plan: Rescheduled Consultation Webinars

We hope everyone continues to stay safe and healthy.

As you know, the Minister of the Environment, Conservation and Parks directed Stewardship Ontario to wind up the Blue Box Program and develop a Transition Plan whereby stewards will be made fully responsible for both the funding and operation of residential recycling in the province under the Resource Recovery and Circular Economy Act, 2016.

As per the recent Minister’s extension letter, the Transition plan is to be submitted to the Resource Productivity and Recovery Authority (RPRA) by August 31, 2020. The Minister anticipates RPRA will approve the plan no later than December 31, 2020.

The April Blue Box Program Transition Plan consultation webinars that were postponed due to the evolving COVID-19 situation have been rescheduled to June 16 and 17, 2020.

We will be hosting three webinar consultations, focused primarily on matters affecting specific stakeholder groups during transition.

We will be hosting three webinar consultations, focused primarily on matters affecting specific stakeholder groups during transition:

Tuesday, June 16, 2020

Steward community
10:00 – 11:30 a.m.
Register here

Municipalities, First Nation communities and the waste management industry
1:00 – 2:30 p.m.
Register here

Wednesday, June 17, 2020

Environment non-government organizations and other stakeholders
1:00 – 2:30 p.m.
Register here

The consultation webinars will be an opportunity to review and comment on how Stewardship Ontario intends to implement the Minister’s direction outlined in his August 15, 2019 letter, including:

Demonstrating transparency and meaningful consultation;
Supporting competition and preventing conflict of interest;
Demonstrating fairness to stewards and protecting consumers; and
Maintaining program performance.

Other matters of interest to be presented include:

The proposed process and timelines for transition and related costs;
The proposed approach to ensure continuity of funding for municipalities;
Anticipated changes to the method Stewardship Ontario is proposing to determine steward fees during transition; and
How reserve funds will be applied to offset transition costs and steward fees.

Your involvement and feedback will be essential as we work towards finalizing the Blue Box Program Transition Plan.

We look forward to you joining us in June. You can contact us with questions at consultation@stewardshipontario.ca.

Feedback

Your feedback and suggestions will be essential as we finalize the Blue Box Transition Plan. You can submit feedback up until Wednesday, July 15, 2020 by:

Emailing consultation@stewardshipontario.ca
Using the online form here

All feedback will be included and summarized in the consultation report submitted to RPRA along with the plan.

Questions

Please send questions to consultation@stewardshipontario.ca.

Blue Box Program Transition Plan

Communications & updates

Ministerial letters

Key dates