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Organic Management in Nova Scotia –
Clear Bags, Material Bans, Financial Support
Compost Council of Canada
Halifax, Nova Scotia
September 23, 2014
Overview • Background
– Current Regulation
• Environment Act
– RRFB
– Funding
• Solid Waste Resource Management Regulations
– Bans
– Disposal targets
• Infrastructure
• Access
Overview
• Organic Trends
• Clear Bags
• Bans
• Financial Support – Funding Issues
• What is Next for Nova Scotia?
• Net Effect
• Ivany Report
Background
• If we look back 25 years, Nova Scotia relied upon incinerators, open burning, and dumps to manage solid waste. – Cost effective, most cases, no tip fee charged.
– Leachate impacts to surface and ground water, odor and fine particulate emissions.
– Linear vs circular economy.
• HRM investigating options to replace Sackville landfill – Incineration option turned down by Province.
– Need for province-wide solution was identified.
– Significant economic impact associated with diversion.
Environment Act • Authorizes creation of the Resource Recovery Fund
• Fund to be the receiver of any surcharges on designated materials which a manufacturer, distributor, or retailer has collected.
• Closure of 1st generation (natural attenuation) landfills and replacement by centralized 2nd generation (engineered leachate collection and treatment) landfills by January 1st 2006.
• Minister shall promote composting as an option for waste resource management.
Environment Act
• With regard to financial incentives, the Environment Act recognizes:
• The Minister may undertake waste resource management studies,
• And can enter into cost sharing agreements to encourage reduction, reuse, recycling and composting.
Solid Waste Resource Management Regulations (1995)
• Formation of seven solid waste regions to create efficiencies to support recycling, composting, and landfilling operations.
• Require facilities for the purpose of disposal, transfer, HHW, & composting to be constructed and operated under an Approval.
• Establish bans on various materials that should not be disposed by landfilling.
• Phased in over time
• Continue to add new materials to ban list
Solid Waste Resource Management Regulations (Bans)
• What is covered by bans? • Beverage containers, cardboard, newsprint, tires, lead acid
batteries - April 1st 1996
• Leaf & yard waste - June 1st 1996
• Waste paint, automotive antifreeze - April 1st 1997
• Compostable organic material – June 1st 1997
• Steel/tin/glass food containers, low density polyethylene / high density polyethylene bags and packaging – April 1st ,1998
• TV, computers & peripherals, printers – February 1st 2008
• Scanners, AV playback & recording systems, telephones & fax machines, cell phones & wireless devices – February 1st 2009.
Solid Waste Resource Management Regulations (1995)
• Establish disposal targets of 50% by 2000 and 300kg/person by 2015.
• Create the Resource Recovery Fund Board (RRFB) as administrator of the fund, responsible for deposit/refund bottle recycling, and tire recycling.
• RRFB to remit to municipalities no less than 50% of net revenue to municipalities and regions.
Infrastructure • In vessel
• CBRM Colchester Cumberland
• Pictou New Era Miller
• Lunenburg North Ridge Yarmouth
• Windrow • Richmond Inverness Victoria
• New Ground Organics (farm based)
• Antigonish Guysborough TE Boyle
• Fundy Spec Lake Louisiana Pacific
• AD • Digby
• Five additional farm based AD units have been proposed
Infrastructure
• What's being managed? • In-vessel:
» SSO (greencart) Leaf & Yard
» Biosolids
• Windrow:
» Biosolids Leaf & Yard
» Mink carcasses Wallboard wastes
» Fish processing wastes SSO
• AD
» Mink manure Dairy manure
» Waste mink feed SSO
» Silage/crop residues wash water
Access • Composting facilities in 16 of 18 counties
• Six anaerobic digesters operating or proposed • Digby (1), Colchester/ East Hants (2), Antigonish (2), Inverness
(1)
• 45 of 53 municipalities have curbside collection of
organics • 95% of population
• Expanding market segments likely ICI oriented • Apartments /condos over 4 units
• Mink / Dairy/Aquaculture
Organic Trends
• 2012/13 – 111,000 tonnes SSO • Still an estimated 90,000 tonnes going to landfill
• By 2016, program required for managing upwards of
95,000 tonnes of mink wastes • AD facility ~ 12,000 to 25,000 tonnes if expanded
• Farm based AD • 23,000 tonnes manure
• 10,000 tonnes of silage/crop residues
• Upwards of 35,000 tonnes of SSO
Clear Bags • A best management practice adopted by the
municipalities as a means of improving diversion of banned materials.
• Typically allow one opaque bag for privacy issues.
• First adopted in Cumberland County & town of Oxford in 2001. Several municipalities on the South Shore have adopted for 2014-15 fiscal.
• Ease of inspection by enforcement staff /collection vehicles operators.
• Out of compliance bags can be stickered and rejected at curbside.
Clear Bags
• 45 of 54 municipalities use clear bags for residential /
ICI waste management • 48% of population (HRM ~ 40%)
• HRM likely to be next adopter
• Post 2006 adoption of clear bags driven by cost considerations of landfilling, diversion credit, and 300 kg/person disposal target.
• Impact : 20-40% direct increase in organics and recyclables diversion
Bans • Another tool for encouraging diversion, but not a
panacea.
• Can be used as part of your communication / education package as they send a clear signal to businesses & residents.
• Can form part of your enforcement action – our bans apply to everyone – can form part of the ticket issued for non compliance.
Bans
• Do they work?
• Yes & No.
• Effectiveness is tied to level of enforcement you are willing to undertake.
• Though our initial bans have been in place for nearly 20 years – 50% of landfilled materials are organics, paper, plastic, & redeemable materials.
Financial Support
• In Nova Scotia there are dedicated funds made available to the municipalities for solid waste via two funders:
• Nova Scotia Dairy Processors
– ~ $700,000 per annum
• RRFB (2014)
– R&D fund & special projects : ~ $150k
– MAP Innovation : upwards of $200k
– Education & Awareness (RRFB & municipalities): $1.5 million
– Enforcement (municipalities): ~ $700k
– Approved program grants : $1 million
– Diversion credit: $4.9 million split b/w municipalities & NSE
Financial Support
• What sort of organics projects are/have been supported?
– Student research grants - Most Effective Method of Measuring
Compost Maturity
– MAP Innovation - Integrated Organic Waste Management :
Industrial Vermicomposting
– R&D - Enhancing the Use of Municipal Composts in Organic
Agriculture
– Biosolids/drywall mixtures
– Coated/composite wood
– C&D wood/drywall bedding for livestock
Funding Issues • Dairy
• Providing cost recovery on only 3% of recycled materials.
• Voluntary agreement only targets fluid milk production of Nova Scotia producers
• RRFB • Though diversion credit and other programs have remitted
upwards of $100 million to the municipalities since inception, annual costs of solid waste system is in the order of $80 million.
• RRFB revenue tied to deposit/refund return rate, sale of redeemed materials, as well as costs associated with enviro-depots and tire recycling.
• Value of diversion credit has declined from a high of $26/tonne to $12/tonne.
What is Next for Nova Scotia? • SWRM Regulations review.
– Extended producer responsibility: shift cost of managing end of life for products to producer/retailer • Likely to generate $14-$20 million annually
– Add to banned list and strengthen requirements for approval holders to comply
– Include off road tires in current tire recycling program
– Generalized updating of regulation to insure that it is current.
– Clarify waste to energy.
– Revise bottle deposit for efficiency
• Packaging, printed paper, products containing mercury, batteries, vehicle fluid products and the containers, oil, oil filters, oil containers, paint and coating products (as currently regulated) and their containers, paint thinners and their containers, single-use pressurized containers, safety flares, pharmaceuticals and sharps, including syringes, domestic pesticides and their containers, small quantity fuels and their containers— camping oil, lighter fluids, etc., tar and roofing patch and their containers, adhesives (in containers greater than one litre), electronic waste (as currently regulated), microwaves, floor model printers, photocopiers, mattresses and box springs, carpet and plastic and synthetic flooring, pressure treated timbers
• Limited EPR for the following items:
• Engineered and composite wood
• Drywall and wallboard
• Asphalt shingles
Net Effect
• Potentially reduce solid waste system costs for municipalities by 1/3.
• Materials currently being landfilled will have higher value in recycling system
• This will help to reduce disposal tonnages and encourage economic activity
• Current diversion credit funds would be repurposed, but would stay in solid waste sector.
• Possibly used to offset costs in composting – province wide curbside collection, investments in efficiency
Ivany Report
• Looks at the need to invigorate NS economy and provides potential road map of the future if NS is to thrive.
• Under review by provincial government.
• Of interest to compost sector – recognized that current AG sector is nearly $470 million (local and export) – recommends doubling this sector over 10 years.
Questions?
