From Christine Ball (May 2026):

Last week I had the privilege of meeting Karl Allen, Manager of Waste Diversion Programs with the City of Peterborough, and I left energized.
Karl has been in the industry for years, but there is nothing complacent about him. He lights up talking about composting tonnage, illegal dumping solutions, and organic diversion rates. That kind of passion is rare, and it matters.

Peterborough has struggled with a perception of being dirty. Karl has made changing that his personal mission.

In November, the City launched Clean Streets Peterborough as a pilot, built on a simple premise: make waste management easier and more convenient, and waste stops migrating into parks and public spaces. Community feedback is actively shaping the program's next steps. The City is also working directly with multi-residential buildings on accessible waste strategies to address illegal dumping in parks.

On the diversion side, the results speak for themselves. The Green Bin program is expanding from single-family homes into downtown restaurants and businesses. The composting facility at Bensfort Road is already processing over 6,000 tonnes of organic material annually. A free reuse centre for paints and aerosols keeps hazardous materials out of the waste stream entirely. And cooperation between the City and Peterborough County is strong.

Staffing pressures are real, as they are across the sector. But Karl is building something meaningful with his team and partners despite those constraints.

As Executive Director of the Municipal Waste Association, meeting practitioners like Karl is exactly why this work matters. I am really excited to visit the composting facility for the MWA tour in June.

-- 

Click here to see the original LinkedIn post

From Christine Ball (May 2026):

Today I had the opportunity to tour the Bewdley Transfer Station and the Northumberland County Landfill in Brighton, hosted by Adam and Dave from the County of Northumberland. I left genuinely inspired.

Northumberland is working toward an ambitious goal: diverting 75 percent of residential waste from landfill while extending the life of its only active site, all within tight physical constraints and real logistical pressure. What stood out was not just the target, but the mindset.

Adam, Dave, and their team are not waiting for ideal conditions or larger budgets. They are pragmatic, inventive, and relentlessly focused on extracting value from what they already have. “That’s the way it’s always been done” simply does not hold weight here. Whether it is rethinking site layouts to improve traffic flow, expanding diversion streams like household hazardous waste, or driving behaviour change, they are demonstrating what disciplined, continuous improvement actually looks like in municipal waste management.

This sector rarely gets the recognition it warrants. Experiences like this are a sharp reminder of why the work matters, and why the people doing it, often quietly and with considerable ingenuity, deserve far more credit.

Thank you, Adam and Dave. It was a privilege.

-- 

To see site photo's check out the original post on LinkedIn

Announcing MWA's New Executive Director

The Board of Directors is pleased to announce the appointment of Christine Ball, GPC.D, as the new Executive Director of the Municipal Waste Association.

Christine brings progressive leadership experience in the non-profit and environmental sectors. This includes serving as Chief Executive Officer for the Peterborough and the Kawarthas Association of REALTORS, where she led operations, strengthened governance, and improved communication and engagement for an association of more than 1,000 members. She also previously served as Executive Director/Program Manager of the EcoBusiness Network, where she oversaw sustainability programs and managed public relations and media strategy. Her environmental background includes waste auditing certification and hands-on work in waste reduction, resource recovery, and sustainability projects.

From Christine – "I am honoured to step into the role of Executive Director with MWA. I am excited to work alongside the Board, members, and partners, to strengthen connections across our sector, elevate practical innovation, and to help support the advancement of responsible, forward-looking waste management for communities across Ontario."

We are excited to welcome Christine to this leadership role and look forward to the experience, energy, and strategic vision she brings. Christine will start on Tuesday, February 17, and can be reached at christine@municipalwaste.ca

TSSA engagement plan with industry and consumer advisory councils (Fall 2024):

• Sectoral stakeholder outreach online (Fall 2024)

• Review and obtain meaningful feedback from stakeholders on the implementation

plans and TSSA industry and consumer advisory councils (Winter 2025, Fall 2025)

• Posting on the Government of Ontario Regulatory Registry (TBD)

TSSA Update

After the TSSA update at the last M3RC meeting on December 17, 2024,  I reached out to the Auditor General’s Office to understand their recommendations as they seem to be the basis or part of the rationale for TSSA’s proposal. I am including the response from the Auditor General’s Office as this seems to be a bit of a stretch:

As part of the 2017/18 Performance Audit cycle, our Office audited the TSSA’s operations (see 2018 audit report here). The audit found that the TSSA’s oversight processes were not fully effective in ensuring public safety.

The Technical Standards and Safety Act, 2000 provides the TSSA with broad inspection powers to inspect any fuel facilities and equipment that it deems necessary. The TSSA therefore has the ability to establish periodic inspection programs to ensure that the fuels sector in Ontario follows safety laws.

The TSSA is ultimately responsible for ensuring companies that store, transport and sell fuels, such as gasoline, natural gas and propane, operate safely.

In our Office’s audit, the TSSA could not explain why it does not periodically inspect some areas in the fuel sector, such as pipelines, compressed natural gas stations and propane distributors. In addition, the audit also found that the TSSA was not:

o          inspecting private fuel storage sites that pose a threat to source water intakes;

o          monitoring the offsite propane storage locations, so compliance with applicable safety laws at these sites was not known;

o          periodically inspecting tanker trucks used to transport propane, gasoline, diesel and other liquid fuels; and

o          ensuring that abandoned fuel sites are cleaned up, increasing the risk of environmental contamination.

As a result, our Office made a number of recommendations to address gaps in regulatory coverage of businesses/sectors that the TSSA is supposed to regulate. It’s the TSSA’s responsibility to assess and decide which businesses/sectors it should be regulating in accordance with the Act and related regulations to ensure public safety. 

For further information, please see the attached slide deck (#19 is on Digester, Landfill and Biogas proposed Fees)  TSSA Slide Deck

Amendments to four producer responsibility regulations for tires, batteries, electrical and electronic equipment, and hazardous and special products

The amendments to the RRCEA Regulations have been posted as final on the ERO from the recent Sept 5 - Oct 20, 2024 ERO 019-8866 Comment Period  https://ero.ontario.ca/notice/019-8866

The first impression is that they have largely moved forward with the changes that were proposed with some small exceptions. A MWA Briefing Note will be posted once we get a chance to review the Decision.

Courtesy of CBC News - Mike Crawley, Queen's Park

The 2024 edition of the event highlights the integration of new technologies, international collaboration, evolving sustainability trends, policy developments, and the pivotal role of electric refuse vehicles and automation in driving efficiency and environmental stewardship.

Read about the 2024 Waste and Recycling Expo Canada here.

The Canadian Circular Cities and Regions Initiative(CCRI) was launched in 2021 by the National Zero Waste Council, the Federation of Canadian Municipalities’ (FCM) Green Municipal Fund, the Recycling Council of Alberta and RECYC-QUÉBEC.

The CCRI spearheaded a national discussion on circular economy best practices and advanced measurable impact in 25 cities and regions across the country - from coast-to-coast-to-coast and now published the following resource Circular Procurement: Strategies for Circular Criteria

Please view the following link for more information

On September 26 and 28, 2023, the Continuous Improvement Fund (CIF) Governance Committees passed a resolution to allow CIF’s operations to continue for an additional year. The one-year extension authorizes the CIF to operate through 2024, with administrative activities associated with the windup to be completed in the first half of 2025.

In July 2023, CIF staff consulted with stakeholders on the one-year extension and solicited feedback on a 2024 Draft Work Plan. Stakeholders indicated near unanimous support for the one-year extension of CIF operations.

For more information on current and past plans, visit the CIF website.

As a proud member of the MWA and advocate for a sustainable industry, Generate Upcycle is happy to share the news of their latest initiative: an RNG Expression of Interest (EOI).

Given our shared objectives and commitment to the resource recovery industry's growth, we hope that you can share the EOI information and invitation to participate with association members and other organizations that you think would be interested in collaborating with us.

We are interested in collaborating with organizations that:

•             Are ready to learn about the benefits of RNG.

•             Are interested in sourcing RNG to fuel thermal or hard to electrify  applications.

•             Have set emission reduction targets and sustainability initiatives.

•             See the potential in partnering with Upcycle, a leader in the circular economy arena.

If you need more information or have questions about the EOI please contact:

The working group will consist of representatives from government, environmental organizations, consumer advocacy groups, recycling industry experts, and business leaders.

Make sure you check in regularly and stay active on our new online Member Community!
We have many new resources added to the resource library, members' inquiries waiting response, and several upcoming events listed on the community calendar.

New Member Resources
We have added many new resources and resource categories to our online member's library! See videos, reports, and links to support your waste & circular economy programming!
Go to the Member Resource Library!

Members' Inquiries
View and reply to active member's inquiries! Go to the Member's Inquiries Forum page.

Events
See the Community Calendar to find upcoming events, webinars, and important dates.

It's been three months since we launched our 2022 Membership Drive and our new website and we hope you have found it valuable and engaging! Whether you are new to MWA or have been a longstanding member, here is a page to guide you and your staff on maximizing the value of your MWA membership and navigating around the new online Member Community. Find tips and tricks on setting up your profile, creating staff accounts, and using the various networking and resource tools available to you!

Click here to access our new webpage: 

Maximize Your MWA Membership

The Board & Staff at the MWA are pleased to welcome new and existing Municipal, Corporate and Associate Members to register and explore our new online community today!

Our new MWA Member Community allows you to create and manage your own organizational and individual staff accounts, connect with other members across the MWA network, register for events, post jobs & tenders, join Committee groups, access member resources, start forum discussions and get the latest updates and news all within the Member Community feed and blog.

Register, explore and enjoy. We hope this online community continues to serve you and your colleagues as we continue to help advance waste minimization and diversion across our communities!