Okay, industry, you do it...

by Jay Arthur

Maybe it's the coming winter, or the black cloud drifting up from the south, but it seems to me that the old stewardship business is having some dark times.
If Leona Dombrowsky were to address the province on the State of the Waste Diversion Act (WDA) Initiatives this week, it would not be a happy tale.
The blue box program is in a shambles as the poor staff at Stewardship Ontario try to explain to their industry members why those numbers just keep getting higher. Thank heavens some dollars to offset municipal costs are flowing now, even if they are falling short.
The oil program, which you would think would be the best lubricated of all the stewardship juggernauts, is going nowhere fast. And the tire plan could well founder on a legal reef as the those pesky collectors and dealers keep pointing out that it runs counter to the Province's own legislation (the WDA). Ironically, both plans are proposing diversion rates less than is currently in place and bring a whole bunch of troubles along for the ride. So, other than the boys in the back room I'm not sure anyone else is in a big hurry to see either approved, and would be quite happy if both were sent back to the drawing board. (Oops, they were, weren't they? So why do they look the same?)
And now, with great fanfare, we have the announcement that anything with a cord or a battery will be scooped up by the new e-waste regulation. I think they forgot plug-in air fresheners but I'm sure they'll be added. Good luck finding a stewardship organization for that little lot. (I do notice, however, that CSR is hovering in the wings, although given the current spat on blue box costs I can't see any municipalities in too big of a rush to sit down with those guys on e-waste. Too bad they just lost their best ambassador.)
The ongoing reality of blue box costs is becoming a bitter pill for  industry to swallow. Every time the guys at Stewardship Ontario call a general meeting the mood gets blacker and the attendees more upset.
And while it would be easy to blame it all on the

inefficiency of municipalities, it just ain't so.
The trouble is that everyone was in a big hurry to get something agreed upon at the outset (having finally agreed to share the cost on the same basis as was on the table in the late 1990s…..but I digress). Not having all the numbers at hand, it was agreed by the municipal reps and the industry reps to "negotiate" a number that would represent net municipal costs. It was, of course, pure fantasy, but it was easier to get agreement on a lower number; so that's what we ended up with for Year One.
Then the surveys were done and the real numbers came in. Big numbers.
And then to add insult to injury, because the whole thing is based on recovery, not recovery and disposal (oh, that was a good idea wasn't it?), guess what happened when recovery increased.
If we then remove from the pile  the dozens of "little guys" who escape paying anything because the administration costs would outweigh the revenues, we end up with stewardship fees that just keep going one way.
Understandably, the howling got pretty intense. But it should be pointed out that as these fees went up, it wasn't as a result of some spectacular increase in municipal inefficiency. We should think of it more as a tribute to the design of the stewardship program. (Perhaps "tribute" is not the right word.)
So here's a thought. As of the first of January, let's make a switch in the who-does-what department.
All those municipalities who contract out their collection and processing to private companies, which would be most, should hand over the program to industry.
Think of it a New Year's gift. The accompanying card will say:
"You are now the proud owner of a recycling contract. Here is the agreement with the private company that looks after the blue box program here. Here are our brochures and the extra blue boxes we keep for replacement. We'll redirect all our calls to you, now, and we'll be happy to pay half of whatever it costs you to look after the program. We assume it will be less than the current number and we look forward to seeing the number decrease as the efficiencies kick in.
Oh, by the way, here's the provincial legislation that says what you have to collect.

Good luck, and  Happy New Year!"