A new law to divert more waste from landfills will soon be rolled out in Ontario. The Waste-Free Ontario Act will also create jobs and help fight climate change.

The Act comes at a time when more than eight million tonnes of waste is sent to landfill each year, while absolute greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from Ontario’s waste have risen by 25 per cent between 1990 and 2012 as the amount of waste disposed in landfills has increased.

Plans for this legislation are expected to:

• encourage innovation in recycling processes and require producers to take full responsibility for their products and packaging
• lower recycling costs and give consumers access to more convenient recycling options
• help fight climate change by reducing GHG pollution that results from the landfilling of products that could otherwise be recycled or composted
• overhaul Waste Diversion Ontario into the Resource Productivity and Recovery Authority, a strong oversight body with new compliance and enforcement powers that will oversee the new approach and existing waste diversion programs until transition is complete.