Reforming Legislation and Regulations to Promote the 3Rs:
Some Observations on Ontario's Waste Management Act, 1992
 and the Proposed 3Rs Regulations

Paper by David McRobert

Waste Reduction Office. Ontario Ministry of the Environment 
September 1992

Presented to The Legal Implications of Legislating Waste
"Destination Elimination: An Economic Vision"

13th Annual Conference, Recycling Council of Ontario
October 7-9, 1992.  Ottawa Congress Centre, Ottawa, Ont.

Abstract

This paper provides an overview of the Waste Management Act, 1992 (or WMA), proclaimed on April 27th, 1992.

The first section outlines some of the major policy announcements made and initiatives established by the Government of Ontario to reduce solid waste generated for disposal prior to the tabling of the WMA.

The second section examines the four main parts of the WMA.  Emphasis is placed on Part IV which contains amendments to the Environmental Protection Act (EPA) to promote waste reduction, rather than parts I-III, which provide legislation to deal with a specific waste disposal problem in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA).

The third section of the paper describes the impact of the EPA Amendments, and the proposed 3Rs Regulations to be enacted under them, on the municipal and the Industrial, Commercial and Institutional (IC&I) sectors.  Some of the concerns that have been expressed about the impact of the legislation, and the regulations, also are examined.

Contents

Abstract

Introduction

Background

            i)          Historical Perspective

            ii)         Establishment of the WRO and the Waste Reduction Action Plan

            iii)         Local Disposal Policy

            iv)        Ban on Construction of New MSW Incinerators

            v)         Initiatives Paper No. 1

What the Waste Management Act (WMA) Is Intended to Accomplish

The Impact of the EPA Amendments and the 3Rs Regulations

            i)          Permit-by-Rule Provisions

            ii)         Implications for Municipalities

            iii)         Implications for IC&I Sector

            iv)        Stakeholder Concerns about Part IV of the WMA

Conclusion

Note on the Author

Appendix A -- WRO Initiatives Papers To Date

Appendix B -- Summary of the Waste Management Act, 1992

Introduction

Since October 1990, the Ontario government has initiated a series of policy measures intended to promote development of a conserver society in the province.[1]   One of the areas where the government has been most active is in reforming laws, regulations and policies on the 3Rs of waste management (reduction, reuse and recycling).  While reaffirming its commitment to safe disposal of solid waste, the new approach is geared to shifting emphasis to avoiding disposal altogether.

This paper provides an overview of the Waste Management Act, 1992 (WMA) which is the main reform of provincial waste management laws undertaken to date.[2]  The WMA contains several amendments to the Environmental Protection Act[3] (EPA) which increase provincial regulatory powers related to 3Rs activities.  It was proclaimed on Monday, April 27, 1992 and came into force immediately.

In the paper, an overview of the historical background to the bill and the key policies which influenced development of the legislation is presented, and the rationale for many of the provisions in the WMA is provided.  Finally, the third section describes the impact of the EPA Amendments, and the proposed 3Rs Regulations to be enacted under them, on operators of 3Rs facilities, and on the municipal and the Industrial, Commercial and Institutional (IC&I) sectors.

Background

Discussions of solid waste management policy in Ontario have a long history; a brief description of some key events in the past decade, with an emphasis on developments in the past two years, is presented in this section.

i) Historical Perspective

In 1983, the Ministry of the Environment (MOE) issued a series of discussion papers called a Blueprint for Waste Management.[4]  These papers contained a comprehensive series of proposals and options, including proposed controls and regulations, covering the full spectrum of waste management from generation through recycling to post-disposal environmental security.  There was a public consultation program both before and after the release.  Topics such as full cost accounting, municipal responsibility for waste management, the role of the private sector and 3Rs were addressed both in the papers and the consultation.  The results of the Blueprint initiative included expanded support programs for 3Rs in the municipal and IC&I sectors.

During the mid-1980s, enthusiasm also began to grow for the Blue Box program.  This curbside recycling program, originally started in the 1970s, was based in its first years primarily on volunteer efforts.  With the financial support of the province and private sector, municipalities began to implement the program in the late 1980s.  By 1991, it was servicing nearly three million residents and diverting 400,000 tonnes of recyclable materials from Ontario landfills each year.[5] 

The fundamental principle upon which the Blue Box program is based is source separation, the essence of which is to encourage or mandate that waste generators separate their recyclable and reusable materials from their waste for disposal, so they can be collected separately.[6]  Subsequent initiatives to increase diversion of non-hazardous solid waste from landfills, such as leaf and yard waste collection programs and wet\dry systems, have built on this approach.

In March 1989, the then Minister of the Environment, the Honourable Jim Bradley, announced two provincial targets for solid waste diversion from disposal facilities: 25 percent diversion by the year 1992 and 50 percent by the year 2000.  These targets were reaffirmed by Environment Minister Ruth Grier in October 1990.[7]

In July 1990, the Ministry released a discussion paper entitled, Towards A Sustainable Waste Management System, which put forth an overview of the progress of waste management in Ontario and proposed that new waste management policies be based on "full cost recovery".[8]  The release of the paper was followed by a three-month consultation period on the means and priorities to be used to achieve the goal of a sustainable waste management system by the year 2000.  Feedback from this consultation process, in particular from municipalities, was incorporated in some of the legislative amendments included in Part IV of the WMA.

Since October 1990, the pace of policy development on waste management and 3Rs issues has accelerated.  A survey of some of the major new programs and policies launched in the last 18 months follows.

ii) Establishment of the WRO and the Waste Reduction Action Plan (WRAP)

As a mark of its commitment to waste reduction, in February 1991 the present Ontario government established the Waste Reduction Office (WRO).  This initiative was intended to encourage innovative policy development and program implementation for the 3Rs, but also served to separate the provincial regulators responsible for solid waste disposal in the MOE's Waste Management Branch from those who develop and implement policies and programs to promote the 3Rs.

On February 21, 1991, Minister Grier announced the Waste Reduction Action Plan (WRAP) which included both regulatory and other initiatives associated with Ministry goals with respect to waste diversion and the 3Rs.[9]

The WRAP is based on the following four elements: strong regulatory measures to promote municipal and IC&I sector source separation of wastes; development of financial and technical systems in support of 3Rs activities; development of a comprehensive public education program to provide information, training and technical assistance on waste reduction; and encouragement of market development for secondary materials.

iv) Local Disposal Policy

Local disposal of solid waste has been an established practice in Ontario for many generations.  This practice was reaffirmed by Minister Grier in March 1991 when she made a statement to the Legislature that the Ontario government wished to encourage local disposal of municipal solid waste (MSW).[10] 

Local disposal is consistent with the four key elements of the WRAP and the goal of promoting a conserver society in Ontario.  The regulatory requirement to source separate wastes will reduce quantities of wastes for disposal significantly.  In addition, the availability of large quantities of source-separated used materials will enhance market development for secondary materials in Ontario and provide a steady stream of new materials for the growing "green industry" sector in the province.  Since municipalities will be required to locate local disposal and 3Rs facilities, it will be essential for them to educate residents and involve them in the planning, development and implementation of waste management and 3Rs systems.

Finally, waste reduction initiatives are likely to generate important technical opportunities, and should help to ensure that Ontario becomes a leading centre for research, development and training related to 3Rs technologies.

In support of the local disposal policy, the Ontario government established the Interim Waste Authority (IWA) in November 1990 and initiated three landfill site search processes for three GTA site search areas (Peel Region, Durham Region and the combined regions of Metropolitan Toronto and York) in April 1991.  Within the terms of the IWA site search process(es), long-distance transportation of MSW outside the GTA by affected GTA municipalities need not be considered as an alternative to the landfilling option.[11]

v) Ban on the Construction of New MSW Incinerators

In April 1991, Minister Grier announced a ban on the construction of new incinerators in the province;[12] it is expected that this ban also will have an important impact on the success of diversion activities.  Incineration destroys used materials which otherwise could be removed from the waste stream and turned into useful products.  This policy, like the local disposal policy, will ensure that a stable and secure supply of recycled and used materials are available for green industries.  For example, the ban already has generated many enquiries from the private sector (which now are being explored) to process and recycle various kinds of paper generated in the GTA.

Prior to the announcement of the ban on incineration, a number of municipalities were preparing technical studies on incineration and searching for incinerator sites in compliance with the provisions of the Environmental Assessment Act.[13]  Most municipalities discontinued this work after the announcement of the ban in April 1991. 

While it was under way, work on incineration options by waste management planners created a climate of uncertainty about which materials would be available for 3Rs activities in Ontario.  It also meant that financial and technical resources were dedicated to promoting incineration, rather than waste reduction.  Thus, the decision to take incineration off the table will enhance waste management planning in Ontario.

vii) Initiatives Paper No. 1[14]

As was explained in the WRAP announcement in February 1991, implementation of strong regulatory measures to promote 3Rs activities in Ontario is an important priority for the Ontario government.  The regulatory measures being considered include:

            -           mandatory Blue Box recycling programs for all but the smallest municipalities[15];

            -           mandatory waste audits and waste reduction plans for major users of packaging[16];

            -           waste audit requirements for other major IC&I sectors[17];

            -           source separation and composting programs in most municipalities for leaves and yard waste[18];

            -           mandatory source separation of specific recyclable materials generated by retail malls, office complexes, schools, hospitals, hotels, restaurants, larger manufacturing facilities and other IC&I facilities[19];

            -           streamlined approvals for new 3Rs facilities ("permit-by-rule")[20]; and

            -           accelerated programs to promote 3Rs activities within the Ontario government.

Details of these regulations were provided in a discussion paper called Initiatives Paper No. 1 released by Minister on October 9, 1991.[21]  In addition, a lay-person's draft of the proposed regulations, which had been completed by lawyers in the Legal Services Branch of MOE in October 1991, was made available to individuals who requested a copy.[22]

As indicated in Initiatives Paper No. 1, the Ontario government intended to begin the phase-in of these regulations in the summer of 1992.  The MOE is hoping to publish the proposed 3Rs regulations in the Ontario Gazette before the end of the year but the publication date

has not been finalized, pending review and approval of the regulations by Cabinet.

Two other Initiatives Papers dealing with waste management master planning and measuring achievement of the waste diversion targets respectively, and one other paper prepared by the Ministry of Municipal Affairs with input from the WRO (on municipal waste management powers), were released subsequently.  A brief description of each of these is provided in Appendix A.

What the Waste Management Act (WMA) Is Intended to Accomplish

The Waste Management Act (WMA) is divided into four parts.  A detailed description prepared by the MOE of its various provisions is presented in Appendix B.

Parts I to III of the WMA establish the IWA as a Crown corporation, clarify the scope of the IWA's landfill site search process and provide certain powers to the Minister related to implementation of the GAP strategy.[23]  Since other parts of the MOE are responsible for implementation of the GAP strategy, and the Office of the Greater Toronto Area is responsible for the IWA, I will restrict my comments to Part IV.

Part IV of the WMA contains the fundamental provisions which will allow the province to begin implementing components of the WRAP, and consists entirely of amendments to the Environmental Protection Act.  Consequently, unlike parts I, II and III of the WMA, everything in Part IV applies to the province as a whole.

Most of the amendments in Part IV amend Part V of the EPA, which is titled "Waste Management", and Part VIII, which was titled "Litter, Packaging and Containers" before Bill 143 was proclaimed and is now titled "Litter, Packaging, Containers, Disposable Products and Products that Pose Waste Management Problems".

Part IV also contains some housekeeping amendments which clarify current MOE powers with respect to waste disposal.  The primary purpose of Part IV, however, is to provide a legislative basis to implement new, comprehensive 3Rs programs in Ontario.  For example, section 24 of the WMA provides the Ontario government with explicit authority to study, fund and regulate waste reduction activities in the province.  Sections 28 and 29  recognize that the massive production of disposable products which are destined for immediate disposal is in itself a problem and provides the MOE with authority to develop measures to regulate such products.

New regulation-making powers in Part IV of the WMA will allow the Minister and/or Cabinet to require major packaging users to prepare audits and workplans to reduce packaging waste, and to require larger IC&I establishments to undertake waste audits and prepare waste reduction workplans.

It should be pointed out that the WMA is only one component of a package of legislative initiatives to promote the 3Rs which is being considered by this government.  Other related legal reforms, such as the amendments to the Municipal Act[24] and various regional municipal Acts to empower Ontario municipalities to undertake 3Rs activities, also are important to the overall effort to promote waste reduction in Ontario.  One of the most important aspects of the legislative reform proposals outlined in the paper released by the Ministry of Municipal Affairs[25] is that the proposed changes will enhance the waste management and 3Rs powers of municipalities, and encourage further development of municipal source separation programs.

The Impact of the EPA Amendments and the Proposed 3Rs Regulations

The EPA amendments contained in the WMA and the proposed 3Rs regulations outlined in Initiatives Paper No. 1 will have a significant impact on how source-separated materials and residual wastes are managed in Ontario.  For the purposes of this paper, only a few implications have been highlighted.

i) Permit-by-Rule Provisions

The provisions in subsection 34(2) of the WMA will allow accelerated approvals for certain key types of recycling sites by clarifying and streamlining the current approvals process under the EPA. 

At present, a "Provisional Certificate of Approval" (C of A) must be issued under section 27 of the EPA.  Obtaining a C of A can be lengthy and cumbersome.  Delays and uncertainties about approvals under the these provisions have acted as a major regulatory barrier to implementing the 3Rs in Ontario.

The new approach, often called "permit-by-rule", should eliminate these barriers.  Clear rules governing how sites must be developed and safeguarded to protect the environment will be published.  Thus, the operator of a recycling site that meets the rules outlined in the proposed 3Rs regulations will be deemed to have a C of A for the site.  The approval process will be enhanced further by a "one window, one voice" approach whereby approvals are coordinated by the regional operations staff of the MOE with the assistance of the WRO.

As indicated in Initiatives Paper No. 1, the recycling sites or facilities that will be eligible for rapid approval under the new provisions include: deinking facilities for recycling paper; gypsum recycling plants; leaf and yard material composting sites; multi-material recycling facilities such as those that process Blue Box materials; and wood recycling sites.[26]  The Ontario government is considering adding other facilities to this list.  Specific details on how the "permit-by-rule" mechanism will be applied will be spelled out in the proposed 3Rs regulations when they are released.

ii)         Implications for Municipalities

As indicated already, the proposed 3Rs regulations will mandate certain municipal 3Rs programs throughout the province in the next few years.  Source separation programs like the Blue Box program will be required for most residential units (including multiple-unit residential buildings) in Ontario municipalities above a specified threshold population.

The WMA, and the proposed 3Rs regulations, will also require that municipalities begin to spend relatively more money on diversion activities.  Studies prepared for the MOE suggest that the cost increases associated with municipal compliance with the proposed 3Rs regulations will be small, perhaps in the order of two or three more dollars a year per resident.[27]

An important policy direction that the 3Rs regulations support, and this is partially reflected in the WMA, is to encourage composting.  Composting activities and programs will be very important to the success of 3Rs activities in the future.  Organic waste makes up approximately 30 percent of the residential MSW now being generated in Ontario.

The proposed 3Rs regulations will require municipalities to maintain or develop programs and facilities for composting of leaf and yard waste and will encourage composting of other organic wastes to produce "controlled compost" and "compost product".[28]  These requirements will alter the nature and volume of residual waste requiring disposal significantly, and that as a result, there should be far fewer odour, vermin and bird problems at landfill sites in the future.

iii)        Implications for IC&I Sector

The impact of the WRAP will be very evident in the IC&I sector.  At present, the IC&I sector generates approximately 55 percent of Ontario's non-hazardous solid waste.[29]

The 3Rs regulations propose to require designated IC&I generators identified in Initiatives Paper No. 1 to develop appropriate waste reduction activities based on proper planning.  The goal  is to reduce IC&I waste "through the introduction of waste audits and workplans, and source separation programs for selected recyclable materials".[30]  For most generators, the selected recyclable materials initially will include old corrugated cardboard (OCC), fine paper, old newsprint (ONP), aluminum, glass and ferrous metal.  In addition, the construction and demolition businesses will be required to source separate drywall, ferrous materials, concrete and brick for recycling.

To facilitate implementation of the regulations, "Waste Audit Guidelines" are being developed by the WRO.  The final version of the guidelines will be available to accompany the WRAP regulations when they are published.

Concerns were raised by many IC&I stakeholders during the consultations on Initiatives Paper No. 1 about the application of the proposed packaging audit and reduction work plan regulations to companies operating in different parts of Canada and the possibility that importers of products might be treated differently than domestic manufacturers and distributors.

After a lengthy series of consultations with affected stakeholders, the Ministry made changes that address most of the stakeholders' concerns.  A packaging audit and work plan guideline has been developed through the National Packaging Task Force, so that we shall, in effect, have a single, national guideline.  This guideline will be supported by a regulation in Ontario.  Initially, it will be voluntary in other provinces.

The focus of the guideline will be the "brand owner", which includes manufacturers, distributors and importers.  Brand owners will be required to monitor trends in reduction, reuse, recycling and recycled content of their packaging from year to year and to implement plans to ensure that less packaging requires disposal.  Changes have been made to simplify reporting of the information without compromising the original intent of the regulation, which was to make continual efforts to reduce packaging a normal part of doing business in the Province.

Another goal of the WRAP which is supported by the EPA amendments in the WMA is to reduce the production and use of disposable, non-recyclable products.  However, no hasty measures will be deployed.  The intention is to encourage manufacturers to begin to implement policies based on the concept of product stewardship.

Product stewardship has been identified as an important component of the overall effort to encourage greater accountability on the part of product manufacturers and distributors.  The theory behind product stewardship is the following: if products are designed and manufactured with due regard for the integrity, environmental cost and future use, re-use or recycling of the materials that go into them, then we can get a significant head-start on: 1) increasing durability; 2) increasing the extent to which products can be repaired and/or parts can be made interchangeable; and 3) recycling the product or its parts if the product and its constituent parts can not be repaired or re-used.

Product stewardship will have important implications for most sectors of the Ontario economy.  Manufacturers will have to begin to design products for disassembly, make parts more durable, and label them so that the parts can be readily identified and re-used or recycled.  This approach to product design has been a practice in many European countries for some time, and has been adopted by several major car manufacturers in Germany in the past few years.  Given the growth of consumer interest in purchasing green products, the practice is likely to expand to North America in the next decade. 

While the WMA provides a preliminary basis to begin to take action on product stewardship, the Ontario government has no plan in place to ban products that "pose waste management problems."  As indicated by the Minister in her speeches to the Standing Committee on Social Development, which held hearings on the bill in January and February 1992, the provincial government is committed to consultation with affected parties before any additional regulatory provisions are developed.

iv)        Stakeholder Concerns about Part IV of the WMA

During public hearings on the bill, several concerns were raised about some provisions in Part IV of the WMA.  In this section, two of these concerns are discussed.

Concern No. 1 --  The WMA is a Provincial Take-over of Waste Management Responsibilities from Municipalities

During the Bill 143 hearings, many provisions in the WMA were described as a provincial take-over of waste management in Ontario.  The Minister has stated on numerous occasions that the province has no intention of taking over waste management activities which are now provided by municipalities and private sector waste management companies.[31]  Moreover, the primary purpose of Part IV of the WMA is to expand the legal framework for waste management and promote the 3Rs.

One of the changes which raised concern about provincial intervention was section 27 of the WMA.  A number of municipalities were fearful that the Minister would order them to accept waste from another municipality without compensation.  It should be pointed out that the Minister has always had emergency powers under section 29 of the EPA to require one municipality to accept waste from another in an emergency situation.  The amendments to section 29 in the WMA, which were modified in the clause-by-clause analysis of the Bill, clarify and limit these powers in several important ways.  First, a section 29 report will require a municipality to accept wastes for up to five years; in order to extend this period the Minister will have to issue another report.  Secondly, the Minister is empowered to provide compensation in the form of monetary payments or future landfill capacity, and the report can be rejected unilaterally by the recipient municipality if it decides that insufficient compensation has been provided.  Thirdly, a provision has been added to confirm the usual practice of the Minister of providing written reasons as part of the report.

Concern No. 2 -- Increasing Municipal Planning and Management Powers

One of the most controversial waste management issues in Ontario right now is that of increasing the planning and management capacity of municipalities to include jurisdiction over wastes generated by the private sector.

Some representatives of the waste management industry have stated  that the WMA gives the Minister the ability to extend increased planning and management powers.  Consultations on issues related to planning and management powers were undertaken as part of joint MOE/MMA consultation on Initiatives Paper No. 2[32] and the MMA Paper on municipal waste management powers.

Advocates who support increasing municipal powers over wastes generated by the IC&I sector argue that waste management systems must be planned and developed in appropriate ways, and that municipalities in Ontario must be able to manage the flow of waste within their borders to achieve this goal.  Moreover, they believe that municipalities must have some degree of certainty where used materials and residual wastes generated by the IC&I sector are going to be taken once they are collected in order to develop and maintain financially sustainable waste systems. 

Recent experience in parts of southern Ontario suggests that if waste or used materials generated by the IC&I sector can be exported out of a municipalities and regions, then the predictability of the system may be undermined, resulting in uncertainties about the quantities and kinds of materials that will need to be handled.  This makes municipal waste management planning very difficult.

Critics of increasing municipal powers contend that granting sweeping powers to municipalities would destroy a viable waste management industry in the province, and discourage further private sector investment in the 3Rs.

Clearly, many important public policy issues must be resolved if increased planning and management powers related to waste generated by the private sector are to be extended to municipalities.  These include: 1) how much power should the provincial government give municipalities to regulate the flow of waste in their boundaries; 2) to whom (i.e. which level of municipal government) should the power be given; 3) when it is appropriate to grant powers; and 4) how should the municipal powers be circumscribed?

Conclusion

The WMA provides an important foundation for many aspects of the proposed 3Rs regulations, including mandatory municipal and IC&I source separation programs and "permit-by-rule" approvals for recycling sites.  However, reforming legislation and regulations are only part of the WRAP.  Other work is under way to develop public education programs, markets for recyclables and reusable materials, and strategies to manage various types of source-separated materials.  In addition, development and implementation of a sustainable financial system for 3Rs and waste management based on the concept of product stewardship is a high priority for the Ontario government.

Applying an approach to non-hazardous solid waste management based on moving toward the ideal of the conserver society will continue to present both an opportunity and a challenge.  The WRAP is a first step toward development of an economy based on managing resources in a closed loop fashion.  The WMA, and the proposed 3Rs regulations, build on the WRAP, and will help to move us toward a more rational legal and regulatory regime for waste management based on commitments to the 3Rs.

Biographical Note on the AuthorNote on the Author

David McRobert coordinates several policy and regulatory projects related to 3Rs activities for the Waste Reduction Office in the Ontario Ministry of the Environment.  He holds a B.Sc. in Biology from Trent University, a Masters in Environmental Studies (M.E.S.) from York University, and L.L.B. from Osgoode Hall Law School.  At present, he is completing work on an L.L.M. thesis on Labour Relations, Technological Change and Sustainable Development.

Before joining the Waste Reduction Office in July 1991, David coordinated research on waste management and global warming at Pollution Probe in Toronto, Ontario.  In the late 1980s, he worked for the Ministry of Attorney General and the Ministry of Labour in the Ontario government.

David has published numerous articles and reports on environmental issues in the past ten years.  He was one of several WRO staff involved with public hearings on the Waste Management Act, 1992.

                                                                     Appendix A

                                                           WRO Initiatives Papers

Three Initiatives Papers, and one discussion paper prepared jointly by the Ministry of Municipal Affairs with input from the WRO have been released thus far.  Another paper on financing waste systems is scheduled to be released early next year.  Here are brief descriptions of each of the papers released to date.

a.  Initiatives Paper No. 1 (Regulatory Measures to Achieve Ontario's Waste Reduction Targets)

The contents of Initiatives Paper No. 1, and some of its implications for stakeholders involved with Ontario's waste management system, are outlined in the accompanying paper.

b.  Initiatives Paper No. 2 (Waste Management Planning in Ontario)

Initiatives Paper No. 2, which deals with reforming Ontario's approach to planning waste management systems, was released with the Ministry of Municipal Affair's discussion paper on Municipal Waste Management Powers on March 31, 1992.  It proposes to put into place a new Waste Management Systems Planning (WMSP) program with the following features:

            1) Municipalities will be required to have in place an approved Waste Diversion Strategy (WDS) before being granted approval for any new waste disposal facility;

            2) Approval of the overall waste management system will be phased, separating approval of the preferred landfill site(s) from the diversion strategy and landfill site selection methodology;

            3) Program delivery and MOE support to municipalities will be through MOE regional offices, providing a "one window/one voice" service; and

            4) Municipalities and the public will be provided with detailed guidance manuals setting out the waste management planning process and the related Provincial statutes, regulations and guidelines.

These features should go a long way toward addressing the problems that have been experienced under the current Waste Management Master Planning (WMMP) process.

A joint consultation process on Initiatives Paper No. 2 and the Ministry of Municipal Affairs' discussion paper on municipal powers was launched in early May 1992.  At least a dozen formal meetings all over the province were held to discuss the papers, and dozens of more informal meetings were also held on the implications of the reforms proposed in these papers over the summer of 1992.  When the consultation process is completed later in 1992, it is expected that the MOE will announce a revised WMSP process.

c.  Ministry of Municipal Affairs Discussion Paper on Municipal Waste Management Powers in Ontario

This discussion paper on municipal waste management powers in Ontario, which reviews and assesses current gaps in municipal waste management powers, was released on March 31, 1992.

The paper presents a framework for consultations on reforming current municipal powers to enhance the capacity of municipalities to undertake waste management and 3Rs activities.  It examines options with respect to clarifying and enhancing the powers of municipalities related to waste management and 3Rs activities in Ontario.  Specifically, the paper outlines proposals that would clarify or enhance authority over certain waste management and 3Rs activities and increase the powers now held by municipalities.

It is expected that legislation based on the consultations amending the Municipal Act and other relevant regional municipal statutes will be tabled either in the Fall of 1992 or early in 1993.

d.  Initiatives Paper No. 4 (Measuring Progress Towards Ontario's Waste Reduction Targets)

One of the challenges ahead is to promote consistent standards and language on waste diversion activities in Ontario.  The lack of standards already has generated considerable confusion among municipalities, industries and provincial regulators.  To help resolve this problem, the WRO released this discussion paper on measuring waste diversion on June 1, 1992.

Appendix B -- Summary of the Waste Management Act, 1992