Image courtesy of the Nottawasaga Valley Conservation Authority
The Nottawasaga Valley Conservation Authority (NVCA) is urging Ontario’s Minister of the Environment, Conservation and Parks, the Honourable Todd McCarthy, to strengthen provincial recycling regulations that affect small businesses, community organizations, and local infrastructure.
In a letter sent this week, NVCA Chair and Bradford West Gwillimbury Councillor Jonathan Scott raised concerns about gaps in the current recycling framework. Without accessible services for smaller industrial, commercial, and institutional (IC&I) locations, the NVCA warns of increased risks of illegal dumping, blocked stormwater systems, degraded water quality, and heightened flood and erosion hazards.
“Conservation authorities are on the front lines of protecting people, property and ecosystems from flooding and pollution,” says Chair Scott. “When recycling isn’t accessible, the environmental costs show up directly in our creeks, rivers and stormwater systems.”
The NVCA Board of Directors has endorsed the call for change, urging the Province to amend recycling regulations to include small IC&I locations under producer responsibility, expand IC&I waste separation requirements, and extend the Ontario Deposit Return Program to cover non-alcoholic beverage containers.
“Alongside our member municipalities, we are worried about a loss of recycling services to our downtown small businesses and places of worship resulting from unintended consequences in provincial regulations,” adds Chair Scott. “We hope the province will address these concerns.”
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