CIAC Responds to Ontario Government Improving Blue Box Program

October 19, 2020

The Chemistry Industry of Canada (CIAC) is pleased to support the Ontario Government’s recently announced plan to make a stronger, more effective Blue Box Program. The province is showing leadership that will help reduce the amount of waste entering the environment while moving toward a circular economy that focuses on recapturing, recycling, and recovering waste so it can be used as a valuable resource.

CIAC and its members also support implementing full Extended Producer Responsibility in the province, which transitions costs away from municipal taxpayers by making the producers of products and packaging fully responsible for costs and management of recycling systems. The government estimates municipalities will see a saving of $135 million annually. By adopting EPR, this places a natural incentive on producers to take the entire life cycle management of products into consideration, from selection of material and product design, to its recovery, recycling, and end-of-life management.

Ontario is just one of many provinces modernizing and advancing its recycling systems towards a circular economy by implementing producer-lead recycling programs and investing in innovations in recycling technology. CIAC believes that to eliminate waste from our environment, cooperation is key and this announcement shows the Ontario Government is eager to work with industry and other stakeholders to eliminate waste while rebuilding our economy.