The Ontario Government proclaimed the Resource Recovery and Circular Economy Act, 2016 and the Waste Diversion Transition Act, 2016, enacted by the Waste-Free Ontario Act, 2016, on November 30. This framework will help Ontario move towards a circular economy, which will increase resource recovery and reduce waste. As this legislation came into effect, the Waste Diversion Act, […]

Today, Ontario passed legislation that will divert more waste from landfills, create jobs and help fight climate change. Currently, Ontario is producing too much waste, and not recycling enough. Over eight million tonnes of waste is sent to landfill each year. Absolute greenhouse gas emissions from Ontario’s waste have risen by 25 per cent between 1990 […]

A Halton trash collector has been fired after a video emerged online showing him shoveling snow into a garbage truck. The video was captured by Milton resident Anna O’Sullivan Tuesday morning and posted online. Read More

Swedish retail giant looks at biodegradable fungus-based packaging to replace polystyrene, which is tricky to recycle. Read more here  

An Edmonton businessman has become the first person in Canada to get a jail sentence on a conviction under environmental laws governing the use of carcinogens in dry cleaning.  Ali Eldin, 68, was handed a four-month conditional sentence Tuesday to be served in the community, after pleading guilty to five Canadian Environmental Protection Act offences […]

Toronto – Public interest groups are asking the Supreme Court of Canada to overturn a Federal Court of Appeal ruling that they say sets a damaging precedent for the future of environmental assessment law in Canada.  Read More

Waste Reduction Week aims to inform and engage Canadians about the environmental and social ramifications of wasteful practices. It strives to educate, engage and empower Canadians to reduce, reuse and recycle waste.  Read More 

Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s government is not doing enough to reduce carbon emissions, fight climate change and regulate oil and gas emissions, a series of audits from a federal watchdog have found.  Read More

One of the world’s most popular standards for environmental management has just been revised, with key improvements that make it fit for the future. Read more

THE PAST DECADE has taught environmentalists a hard truth about voting patterns, one that many have been trying valiantly to change: the environment takes a backseat when issues surrounding jobs and the economy are front and centre. Read More

We don’t get to negotiate with the City for the cost of waste and recycling removal, so we tend not to think of this as a variable rate service. But as a property manager, you have choices in selecting a waste hauler. This gives you the power to negotiate. In order to negotiate effectively, you […]

“..Whether trash in the ocean or water conservation on land, the strong visuals of art can encourage a more urgent awareness about the longterm influence of our disposable consumption.” Read More

So you want to be environmentally responsible, but aren’t big enough to warrant (or afford) a full-blown ISO 14001 program yet? There is a perfect stepping stone for the environmentally conscious – ISO 14001:2004. It’s an ideal Environmental Management System for self-determination. Your industry may not be subject to extensive requirements, but you have standards […]

ISO 14001 revision moves to final stage The revision of one of the world’s most popular standards for environmental management, ISO 14001, has moved to Final Draft International Stage (FDIS). This means members have until 2 September to vote and comment before its final publication shortly after.  Read More

RCO, along with eight other environmental and health organizations, sent a joint letter to the Hon. Kathleen Wynne, Premier of Ontario to urge the Government of Ontario to move forward on tabling new waste reduction and resource recovery policy for the province. Read More

Dutch company VolkerWessels is collaborating with the city of Rotterdam to prototype roads made from ocean plastics. According to an article in New York-based Tech Times, available here, the city of Rotterdam, Holland, is collaborating with Dutch company VolkerWessels to prototype roads made of recycled plastics recovered from the ocean in a “street lab.” Read more

Shovels are breaking ground in Canada for new waste to energy (WTE) projects. In Vancouver (BC), creating energy from waste has been a priority for many years. In Richmond (near Vancouver), Harvest Power has owned and operated one of the largest permitted food scrap and yard debris composting facilities in North America using Covered Aerated Static Pile composting […]

Food waste in America amounts to $162 billion and between 31% to 40% of American food supply goes to waste, primarily in homes, stores and restaurants, according to a new study. The findings, from the Johns Hopkins Center for a Livable Future (CLF) at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, were published in […]

The city has announced an expansion of its recycling program to include soft plastics. Starting June 1st, soft, stretchy plastics such as milk and sandwich bags will be accepted in Toronto’s blue bins. Here are five new items you can recycle that you probably didn’t know you could: Read More

Four Canadian environmental non-profits have been selected to receive up to $25,000 to advance their pollution prevention projects for the transportation sector. The Automotive Recyclers of Canada (ARC) and Summerhill Impact selected the winners as part of the Grants in Gear funding program.  Read more

There are pros and cons around the choices made by municipalities when developing source separated organic (SSO) programs, par­ticularly when it comes to how to bag organics. Sometimes the pros and cons are hidden, especially when it comes to life cycle costs. Read more

Office garbage-can culture has got to go. Most Canadians wouldn’t dream of throwing a pop bottle or newspaper into a garbage can on the street — but too many do it at the office. Office buildings in Canada seem to be the last stronghold of garbage-can culture. My friends and colleagues from across Canada describe […]

s the fate of North America’s first bottle redemption program in question? According to Dennis Kinsey, a longtime veteran of British Columbia’s retail sector and current principal at consultancy Common Ground Solutions, anti-deposit voices are in the process of preparing “one last push” to take down the province’s 45-year-old bottle return program. Read more

The facility will be capable of processing 25 million pounds per year of PET and 11 million pounds per year of PP/PE Canada Fibers Ltd. is opening a new 160,000 sq.-foot plastics recycling plant this spring in north Toronto. Called Urban Polymers, the new facility will focus on making pure, homogeneous plastic materials from post-consumer and […]

It’s a competitive world. Consumer access to information means that 60% of all decisions are made before they talk to you. If you are a property manager trying to appeal to the best possible tenants, how do you take advantage of this? The marketing term is differentiation, but the easiest way to think of it […]

So your munchkins found ISO14001 a breezy walk, and want to take your organization further down the green brick road. Meet the Wizard of EMAS. EMAS is Eco-Management and Audit Scheme, developed more than 20 years ago by the European Commission. It enables organizations to assess, manage and continuously improve their environmental performance. It also […]

Scientists are trialling out new techniques for converting food waste into graphene and hydrogen.  Blended cocoa beans, rice, fruit skins, leeks and asparagus sounds like it should be a recipe for a disastrous smoothie. But these are just some of the wasted foodstuffs that are being treated and converted into materials, with environmental benefits. Read more

In Ontario, you are required (reg. 102/94) to have a work plan to follow up your mandated annual waste management audit. This work plan should address: Reporting, Gap analysis, Recommendations, Setting Objectives, Identifying aspects and impacts, Green procurement, Requirements training, & Implementation Training. Creating this is a job all by itself. Getting your staff onboard […]

City reminding owners of apartment buildings, condos to get services in place by Feb. 1, 2016 Mandatory recycling services for Calgarians who live in multi-family buildings is less than a year away. read more 

As a Property Manager, you can only be as effective at waste management as your tenants. While it can be difficult to control tenant behavior, there are some interesting ways to influence positive trends, and instigate change. Most building waste management work plans – required by law in Ontario (102/94) – focus on activities of […]

Condominium residents across Metro Vancouver are struggling to comply with the new ban on putting food scraps in the garbage, according to one spokesperson. New rules requiring apartments and businesses separate all food waste for composting went into effect on Jan.1. But the head of the Condominium Home Owners Association of B.C.  Tony Gioventu said there is […]

Always be better! Business demands it! Business operations are always expected to improve: regular productivity gains, constant decrease in waste and cost, risk reduction and control measures. Your production, operation and staffing plans adjust targets year over year – shouldn’t your environmental and waste reduction plans do the same? In order to ensure continual improvement, […]

In 2012, Edmonton created a standalone company, Waste RE solutions, with the goal of selling the city’s s expertise in handling garbage to the world. Now, Edmonton’s waste expertise could be exported to a growing city in central China, but city’s taxpayers will have to put up $2 million in upfront costs. Read more

Toronto officials are expecting an expanded report to come back to the public works committee by April to help determine whether the city should privatize waste collection east of Yonge Street. The city first privatized garbage collection in the areas west of Yonge Street in 2011, contracting GREEN FOR LIFE Environmental. Since then, city staff […]

We’ve mentioned recently how understanding the composition of waste generated in your building can be a huge boon to a Property Manager. It can help you better deal with waste haulers and processors. It can help you identify base building processes which can be effected for increased diversion and waste reduction. It can also help […]

Most management systems, like ISO, follow a similar path to success. Plan-Do-Check-Act. For environmental management systems, ISO 14001 is a perfect example of this philosophy in action, and it’s worth taking a look at how it manages to bring about superior performance in almost all cases. Plan. This is the thinking part – figuring out […]

Aluminum cans are comprised of 70% recycled content, compared with 68% in 2010, according to a new study. They are the most recycled beverage container in  North America, in addition to recycled content gains, weigh 2% less that they did in 2010. Read More

Ask any HR professional, and she will tell you that people work better with clearly defined goals. She will also likely say that most people are incentivized by the prospect of being better. It’s why “continual improvement” is a mantra for managing personnel. Well if you are a Property Manager running a building, “continual improvement” […]

Clean Harbors has reversed its decision to send toxic waste from New York state’s Love Canal Superfund Site to a waste processing plant in Ontario, where some 100 truckloads of waste were set to be buried. Massachusetts-based Clean Harbors says it has decided to use its U.S.-based network to dispose of the waste, which has become […]

Understanding what is happening at your factory is part of the knowledge you seek, but almost as important is understanding why it happens, and how you can best manage for improved results. That’s why we recommend root cause analysis of waste generation. By understanding the mechanisms and processes which produce waste in your plant, you […]

The City of Toronto started a series of public hearings and information sessions in late summer to kick off their Long Term Waste Strategy program. Look for updates and scheduled hearings on their website. Read More

For property managers, one of the great benefits to conducting a comprehensive waste audit, benchmarking the various types of waste produced, is that it can take away the guesswork when dealing with waste haulers and processors. Typically, they will ballpark the amount of waste you will process or haul, and then report back on actuals. […]

Asia’s influence on the global stainless steel recycling market is huge, the recent Bureau of International Recycling (BIR) Stainless Steel & Special Alloys Committee’s plenary session in Paris was told. China dominates, while India has huge potential. Read More

Join Recycling Council of Ontario as they bring together individuals, institutions, businesses, and communities to recognize the province’s top environmental achievers and innovators at the RCO Awards Gala.  Working knowledge is sponsoring a portion of the gala, and we invite you to come out, have a glass on us, and network with like-minded professionals from across […]

The European Commission has adopted proposals to turn Europe into a more circular economy. It hopes to boost the recycling of municipal solid waste to 70% by 2030 and ban the landfilling of recyclable material by 2025. WMW asked a number of industry leaders if these targets are realistic and how they can be met? […]

The two main business levers for making industrial operations more profitable are increasing productivity, and controlling costs. A thoughtfully prepared environmental plan can help you make gains in both areas – including the “hidden” aspect of cost control – risk management. Risk management is exceedingly important for environmental plans, because all your cost controls don’t […]

The global industrial waste management services market is set for a period of stellar growth, with revenues rising from $387.40 billion in 2013 to $750.09 billion in 2020, according to a new report from market analysts, Frost & Sullivan. The report found that regulations that facilitate a shift away from landfill towards more value-adding segments […]

Often the first question I hear from a property manager, when they view their waste audit results, is: “So is this good or bad?” That’s really the main question for all metrics – knowing the status quo isn’t helpful unless you have something to compare this to. Is waste diversion better than last year? Are […]

A Printed Circuit Board (PCB) manufacturer has joined a project to develop a use for waste products from the seafood industry in the recycling metals from the effluent generated in PCB and related manufacturing processes. The Sustainable Treatment of Waste Using Recycled Chitosans (STOWURC) project has been set up under the auspices of the Technology Strategy Board […]

We’ve all heard someone say “My boss doesn’t know anything!” But once you become a manager – if you are a good one, you begin to realize that you don’t have to know how to do the work yourself, if your people know their jobs. Instead, you need to focus on how the different people, […]

We all know it’s important to recycle and not toss things into the trash or the environment, but how carefully do we need to rinse containers before sending them on their way to the recycling center? Read more

In Beijing, “Reverse vending machines” in subway stations around the city allow riders to deposit polyethylene terephthalate (PET) plastic bottles in exchange for a commuter pass or mobile phone credit. Read more

One of the biggest challenges Property Managers face in trying to achieve waste reductions, is knowing where to start. There is only so much headway to be made with processes and monitoring at a macro level. There are two ways to get a lot more detail on the sources and volumes of waste, which allow […]

Even when you think you are doing the right thing, environmentally, ensuring legal compliance can be tricky. And even if you are compliant, in the event of an incident you may still be subject to fines and legal action. How do you protect yourself? If the landmark Bata Shoe case taught us anything, it’s the […]

Canadian environmental documentary filmmaker Andrew Nisker has thrown his hat into the ring as a federal Liberal candidate in Toronto’s Beaches-East York riding for the 2015 election.

The Recycling Council of Ontario is now accepting applications for their 2014 RCO Awards for industry-leading waste management. The Awards Gala will be held October 23, 2014.

Applications for environmental awards for office buildings are now being accepted, and it seems like a good time to talk about one of the overlooked but crucial factors in achieving these: tenant communications.  As a property manager, the fact is you don’t control every aspect of your destiny. Regardless of the effort you put into […]

Before Ontario further considers stewardship plans for spent paint and batteries, Ontario’s new Minister of the Environment and Climate Change wants public consultations to consider the potential impact to human health and the environment, as well as the recycling marketplace. Read More

So you make windshield wipers, and maybe they are the best windshield wipers in use. But for some reason, you can’t get the major manufacturers to include your wipers on their new vehicles. You go through your checklist – price, quality, availability, and seem to be well situated. So where are the orders? One of […]

It’s consistently reported that the industrial, commercial, and institutional (IC&I) sector generates the majority of Canada’s waste. To help gain a better understanding of why this the case, and what can be done to improve, the Recycling Council of Ontario (RCO) is leading a National Solid Waste Benchmarking Study to analyze collection and recycling rates in the office […]

Q: Why would a property manager want to do more than the bare minimum to comply with environmental and waste legislation? A: Because the certificates and awards become marketing tools. There are many businesses which slog through their routine, regulated waste audits, and then struggle with remedial work plans. Nothing about their approach is pro-active – or […]

About 285 million kilograms of plastic material was collected for recycling across Canada in 2012, giving the year a 10 per cent jump, the Canadian Plastics Industry Association (CPIA) announced. The 2012 Post Consumer Plastics Recycling in Canada Report highlights an increase in plastics recycling over each of the last three years. Read More

As part of its ongoing revision process, the International Organisation for Standardisation (ISO) has been working on the first revision of ISO 14001 since 2004.  In March 2013 the first Committee Draft of the new standard was developed. Currently, the projected final publication date is January 2015. Before then, however, there are a number of […]

Quality Management Systems were rarely heard of 25 years ago, except in multi-national megaliths. Today, virtual all manufacturing, and most mid to large sized companies have a QMS. There are several popular ones, each with a unique focus (Six Sigma, EFQM, Baldrige, ISO 9000). And they are not mutually exclusive.  ISO 14001 is the de […]

Last August, the Canadian Standards Association (CSA) posted a Notice of Intent to work on the development of a new guideline, SPE-750 — Recycling Process, Audit and Verification Guideline for Ontario. These guidelines will be a warm welcome by those in the waste management industry who for years have been frustrated by insufficient recycling standards […]

With the eyes of the world on the 2014 Olympic Games in Sochi, hundreds of ISO standards will make the games a safe and memorable occasion for all. From alpine skiing to speed skating, standards play a role in every sport in the Winter Olympic Games. ISO 14001 for environmental management is another ISO standard on the winner’s podium. […]