Curbside Diversion Policy – Policy Implementation Update and Timelines
In June 2023, Ottawa City Council approved Motion no. 2023-16-06 to reduce unnecessary waste going to the Trail Waste Facility Landfill. The new policy will allow residents serviced under the City’s curbside collection contract to set out three (3) garbage items every two weeks. A garbage item can be a garbage bag, a 140-litre container or bulky item, with bags/containers not weighing more than 15kg each. Households can put several smaller bags in containers up to 140 litres. There will continue to be no limit to how much residents can set out through curbside recycling and green bins. The motion also directed staff to explore expanding the Yellow Bag Program to residential households, provide options for exemptions for agricultural properties, and to expand the current Special Considerations Program to include non-hazardous medical waste.
Work is underway to finalize the implementation plans for this policy. Staff will present the recommended implementation plan and corresponding timelines to members of Council in May 2024, and policy changes will not launch until approximately three months following the update to Council. This approach will ensure Council is comfortable with the implementation plan and will allow for thorough communications and outreach on the new policy implementation to be executed.
Waste Diversion in Parks Pilot Expansion – 2024 Parks List
As a follow up to the memo sent to Council on February 8th, I am excited to announce the expansion of our Waste Diversion in Parks Pilot. Over the last month, our teams have worked with your offices to confirm additional parks to be added to the pilot and have been exploring other temporary waste diversion options in parks that will help inform an overall permanent program, pending approval of the final Solid Waste Master Plan. We appreciate the feedback received from members of Council and will soon be communicating back to each office the confirmed additional park added for the 2024 season.
Household Hazardous Waste Events
Solid Waste Services is excited to announce we will be continuing with our Household Hazardous Waste (HHW) drop-off events again in 2024. These events ensure that household hazardous waste is safely collected, transported, and appropriately recycled or disposed of, and complement existing waste diversion programs across the City. Staff are working to confirm the drop-off events schedule which will be shared with members of Council later this month. In the meantime, residents are encouraged to consult the Waste Explorer to find retailers nearby that accept HHW.
Four Season Waste Audit – Overview
The City is currently undertaking a four-season waste audit that will help us evaluate the effectiveness of our waste diversion programs and to support evidence-based recommendations for Council consideration to enhance our various diversion and reduction efforts. Here is a brief overview of this waste audit:
- AET Group Inc., who offers expertise in waste auditing, has been retained by the City to conduct a study of curbside and multi-residential garbage and organics, the Yellow Bag Program, Green Bins in Schools Program and three-stream on-street receptacles in the City of Ottawa.
- A waste audit is a formal, structured process used to quantify the amount and types of wastes being generated by residents to help identify current waste practices and how they can be improved.
We look forward to analyzing the findings of this waste audit; both to see the progress we’ve made since the last audit done in 2018/2019, and to see what opportunities we have to further divert waste unnecessarily sent to landfill by leveraging existing waste diversion programs. Results of the four-season waste audit will be shared in Q1 2025, once wrap up and analysis has taken place.
Advancing the Feasibility Study for Alternative Technologies for Waste Management
In December 2023, as part of the Council-approved Draft Solid Waste Master Plan (ACS2023-PWD-SWS-0005), staff were directed to begin the feasibility study and business case for alternative technologies for waste management ahead of the timelines outlined within the Draft Solid Waste Master Plan. The project is currently underway with the project charter nearing completion. The Request For Proposal (RFP) is anticipated to be done later this month, with a consultant expected to be onboarded by Q2 2024.
Environmental Assessment Process for the Expansion of the Trail Waste Facility Landfill
In December 2023, through the Environmental Assessment Process for the Expansion of the Trail Waste Facility Landfill report (ACS2023-PWD-SWS-0006), Council directed staff to begin the Individual Environmental Assessment process with the Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks for the expansion of the Trail Waste Facility Landfill, within the existing landfill footprint.
The Ministry-regulated process for exploring expansion options at a landfill can take upwards of ten years; therefore, staff initiated work on this almost immediately following Council’s approval.
In January 2024, Solid Waste Services began the procurement process for an experienced consulting firm to develop the Terms of Reference required for the potential expansion. Review of applicant submissions will begin next week and firms meeting the minimum qualification criteria will be invited to submit a competitive bid for the work; the successful bidder for the development of the Terms of Reference will be identified by the beginning of Q2 2024.
