December 10, 2015

In this issue:
volstewVoluntary Steward Deadline Fast Approaching - December 31

Below are some important reminders regarding voluntary stewards: 
  • New voluntary stewards wishing to report in May 2016 for MMBC, MMSW, MMSM or Stewardship Ontario must submit a completed and signed Voluntary Steward Agreement  to CSSA by December 31, 2015
  • Existing voluntary stewards wishing to terminate their agreement with any of the programs for 2016, must notify National Steward Services in writing no later than December 31, 2015. 
  • Grandfathered voluntary stewards are requested to complete and submit their Voluntary Steward Agreements as soon as possible
  • CSSA's Voluntary Steward Policy and Voluntary Steward Agreements for each of the four programs can be found here. 


This month MMBC launched a   holiday recycling campaign to educate and inform consumers about common seasonal items and whether they are accepted in MMBC's packaging and printed paper stewardship program. 


 

An   interactive quiz and website are being
featured in targeted online ads and social content, and copies of the advertising creative have been provided to municipalities, First Nations and private collectors. The campaign supports MMBC's ongoing efforts to work with collectors to reduce contamination, which supports the achievement of BC's recycling rate on behalf of stewards.

MMBC to Take on Responsibility for Recycling in Vancouver


 

On November 17, the City of Vancouver announced that it will no longer be a service provider to MMBC for recycling collections from single family curbside residences and multi-family buildings. This means that MMBC will take on direct responsibility for operating recycling collection services in the City of Vancouver. MMBC is already directly responsible for operating recycling services in several communities in the province, including the Cities of Langley, Coquitlam, Revelstoke, Prince George and Quesnel; the Village of Anmore; the University Endowment Lands; and Regional Districts of North Okanagan, Central Kootenay and Kootenay Boundary. In these communities, MMBC enters into contracts with service providers and oversees their operation and performance.

 
mmswMulti-Material Stewardship Western (MMSW) Program Set to Launch

On October 28, the Saskatchewan Minister of Environment announced its approval of  MMSW's revised Stewardship Plan.  MMSW will launch the program on January 1, 2016 when MMSW members will begin to share the cost to recycle their waste packaging and paper with municipalities.  For more information on MMSW's revised Program Plan please visit MMSW's website to view the August webinar presentation. 
 
Under the revised Stewardship Plan, payments to municipalities are calculated on the basis of capturing 60% of the packaging and paper reported by MMSW members only. MMSW will not pay for the management of WPP from free riders or exempt businesses. MMSW will issue the first of four quarterly invoices to stewards on January 1, 2016, payable on January 31, 2016.

 
mmsmInforming and Engaging Manitobans 
 
MMSM continued with its promotion and education campaigns over the past few months. Here are some highlights:
  • The 2015 Bag up Manitoba This year's plastic bag challenge had another successful year with over 1.45 million plastic bags collected during the month of October. In total, 166 schools participated and 1,454,138 plastic bags were recycled. A program of Take Pride Winnipeg! Inc., MMSM has partnered on this important initiative for the past six years. Since 2008, it has kept over 7.5 million plastic bags out of landfills.
  • Brandon Waste Reduction School Challenge - For the fourth consecutive year, MMSM was the title sponsor of the annual Brandon Waste Reduction School Challenge. This year's challenge ran from October 13 through to October 29, with a total of 19 classrooms from eight different Brandon School Divisions schools participating. Over the course of the three-week challenge, students were engaged in waste reduction activities and visual learning in the classroom.
  • MMSM is proud to announce the 2015 Northern Community Clean-up Winner: Sherridon, Manitoba. MMSM staff recently traveled up to Sherridon to host a celebratory BBQ for the winning community. Sherridon also received a blue box for each household, recycling carts for their community sheds and educational pieces for each home to inform residents about recycling. 
 

2015 Bag Up Manitoba - Plastic Bag Roundup Challenge launch event.

 
soNew Waste Diversion Legislation Released by the Ontario Government 

On November 26, the Ontario government introduced new waste diversion legislation and released a draft waste diversion strategy for 90 days of consultation. 
Stewardship Ontario will be looking closely at the materials over the coming weeks and will communicate with Stewards as appropriate. Also, an information session will be held in January to take stewards and trade associations through the key features of the legislation, its likely impacts and implications.
 
PIM Now Available 

Stewardship Ontario's 2016 Pay-In Model (PIM) table is now available online. The PIM table contains the calculations to derive the 2016 Blue Box fees.

Update on Determination of 2016 Steward Obligation:
 
The amount of the total steward obligation for 2016 remains an issue to be resolved.  
 
Waste Diversion Ontario (WDO) is continuing its work to determine the 2016 steward obligation. In the absence of an approved obligation, Stewardship Ontario has used a proxy of $134M for the steward obligation based on 50% of municipal-reported net costs in the same manner that the 2014 and 2015 steward obligations were calculated. 
 
Stewardship Ontario is continuing to work with WDO and municipalities to determine what the 2016 obligation should be, and will keep you informed of any news as and when it happens. 
 
feesettingFee Setting Methodology Project Update

In March 2015, CSSA initiated a project to identify options to change the way steward material fee rates are calculated. CSSA kicked off the project with a webinar on March 17th for all interested stakeholders followed by several communiques with updates on the project.   A Steward Consultation Committee (SCC) made up of 20 steward representatives from a broad spectrum of steward business sectors was created to explore the various fee methodology options.   The SCC is chaired by Neil Antymis, Director Government Affairs, Pepsico Beverages and Chair of the MMSM Board of Directors, and Scott Tudor, National Director, Sustainability, Sobeys and a member of the Stewardship Ontario Board of Directors.   
 
The development of the fee setting process is being facilitated through a series of workshops conducted with members of the SCC from May through to the end of the year.  As the SCC's work comes to conclusion, their recommendations will be presented to the wider steward community in a consultation in the new year. More information will be shared with stewards in early 2016.

 
AGM2CSSA Annual Steward Meeting - Recaps and Links to Materials 

Canadian Stewardship Services Alliance (CSSA) held its third annual meeting for stewards of packaging and printed paper programs in British Columbia, Saskatchewan, Manitoba and Ontario on October 29, 2015.  The meeting was attended by over 100 people with over 400 individuals joining by webinar.  CSSA provided stewards with performance updates on the four stewardship programs as well as the 2016 fee sched ules.   

CSSA also invited three guest speakers who provided insights on the changing nature of the material mix in the recycling system - aka the 'evolving tonne' - how MRFs are responding to this changing material mix and the impact on commodity markets.  A recording of the guest speaker presentations can be found here  .   
 
For those who have not yet had the opportunity to read the materials produced for the meeting, or watch the videos of the speakers, all materials from the meeting are available on the CSSA website:
Thank you to those who filled out the evaluation form following the meeting. Some of the key feedback included: 84% found the meeting productive; and 100% of respondents found the pre-read document useful, especially the information about the fees and explanations. You also shared some suggestions for future meetings: continue to invite guest speakers to discuss trends; and invite stewards to submit questions in the days leading up to the meeting so they can be answered during the meeting. We will take all suggestions on board as we plan for next year's meeting.  

 

Questions?

 

As ever, if you have any questions about any of the programs, please feel free to call your Steward Services team on 1-888-980-9549 or email: stewards@cssalliance.ca.

 

If you have any suggestions for what you'd like to see in future newsletters, please email your ideas to info@cssalliance.ca

 


Have any questions about CSSA? Visit our FAQ page or email us:
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