diversion, but at what cost?
TRANSCRIPT
Diversion, but at what cost? The Economic Challenges of Recycling in Ontariohttp://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0921344914002699
By: Dr. Calvin Lakhanhttp://wastewiki.info.yorku.ca/[email protected]
Overview• Study examined how changing the mix of materials
accepted in Ontario’s Blue Box program affects program costs and recycling rates
• Quantifies the impact of “non core” material recycling rates on system costs and diversion levels
• Is there an optimal mix of Blue Box materials?• Economic and Diversion impact of removing non core
materials from the Blue Box program.
Methods
• System based cost model developed using data from the Waste Diversion Ontario Data Call, and Stewardship Ontario Pay in Model
• Cost model allows users to change the mix of materials included in the Blue Box, and attempt to achieve a maximum goal recycling rate at the lowest possible cost
• Cost model now publicly available on the Waste Wiki website
Results• What is the effect of removing non-core materials?
Results Cont’• Model output for achieving a 70% recycling rate using the optimal bix of
Blue Box materials
Conclusions • Non core materials make up a relatively small proportion
of overall Blue Box recovery, but comprise an inordinate share of system costs (2% of material represents 20% of costs)
• Removing these materials have little impact on overall recycling rates
• It is possible to achieve a 70% recycling rate at a lower cost than the existing system by targeting specific materials for recovery