Bill 105 2008

An Act respecting the reporting of industrial, commercial and institutional waste to facilitate the establishment of waste reduction targets and to promote recycling

Her Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Legislative Assembly of the Province of Ontario, enacts as follows:

Definitions

   1.  In this Act,

"carrier" means the operator of a waste transportation system; ("transporteur")

"final waste disposal" means,

  (a)  the deposit of waste at a dump,

  (b)  the landfilling of waste, or

   (c)  the disposal of waste by thermal treatment; ("élimination définitive des déchets")

"recyclable waste" means waste glass, metal, paper, plastic, textiles and any other materials prescribed by regulation, or any combination of them; ("déchets recyclables")

"waste disposal site" means any land upon, into, in or through which, or building or structure in which, waste is deposited, disposed of, handled, stored, transferred, treated or processed; ("lieu d'élimination des déchets")

"waste transportation system" means those facilities, equipment and operations that are involved in transporting waste beyond the boundaries of a site or from site to site. ("système de transport de déchets")     

Reporting requirements for carriers 

   2.  (1)  A carrier who picks up and removes waste from a site where industrial, commercial or institutional activities are carried on shall ensure that, 

  (a)  an accurate record is kept of the amount of recyclable waste and unsorted waste picked up and removed from such sites; 

  (b)  an accurate record is kept of the amount of recyclable waste and non-recyclable waste picked up, removed and delivered to a waste disposal site; and

   (c)  accurate information from those records is submitted quarterly to the Minister of the Environment in the form required by the Minister.  

Offence

   (2)  A carrier who contravenes subsection (1) is guilty of an offence and on conviction is liable to a fine of not less than $10,000 and not more than $50,000.

Same

   (3)  A person who knowingly keeps false or misleading records or knowingly submits false or misleading information is guilty of an offence and on conviction is liable to a fine of not less than $10,000 and not more than $50,000.

Reporting requirements for waste disposal sites

   3.  (1)  A person who owns or operates a waste disposal site shall ensure that, 

  (a)  an accurate record is kept of the amount of waste, both recyclable and non-recyclable, that is delivered to the site;

  (b)  an accurate record is kept of the amount of recycled waste and recyclable waste that is removed from the site for final waste disposal, after being sold or otherwise;

   (c)  an accurate record is kept of the amount of non-recyclable waste that is removed from the site for final waste disposal, after being sold or otherwise;

  (d)  accurate information from those records is submitted quarterly to the Minister of the Environment in the form required by the Minister. 

Offence

   (2)  A person who contravenes subsection (1) is guilty of an offence and on conviction is liable to a fine of not less than $10,000 and not more than $50,000.

Same

   (3)  A person who knowingly keeps false or misleading records or knowingly submits false or misleading information is guilty of an offence and on conviction is liable to a fine of not less than $10,000 and not more than $50,000.

Where Act does not apply

   4.  If a provision of another Act establishes requirements with respect to the reporting of specific types of waste, that provision prevails and sections 2 and 3 do not apply. 

Enforcement 

   5.  (1)  The Minister of the Environment may engage or otherwise designate persons for the purpose of auditing and verifying for accuracy records kept and information submitted under subsections 2 (1) and 3 (1).  

Powers

   (2)  For the administration of this Act, an inspector may, without warrant or court order, at any reasonable time and with any reasonable assistance, make inspections, including, 

  (a)  entering any place in which the inspector reasonably believes can be found anything that is governed under this Act or anything the dealing with which is governed under this Act; 

  (b)  examining, recording or copying any document or data, in any form, by any method;

   (c)  removing from a place documents or data, in any form, produced under clause (b) for the purpose of making copies;

  (d)  requiring the production of any documents or data, in any form, required to be kept under this Act and of any other document or data, in any form, related to the purposes of the inspection; and

  (e)  making reasonable inquiries of any person, orally or in writing. 

Limitation re removal of documents, data

   (3)  An inspector shall not remove documents or data under clause (2) (c) without giving a receipt for them and shall promptly return the documents or data to the person who produced them. 

Power to exclude persons

   (4)  An inspector who exercises the power set out in clause (2) (e) may exclude from the questioning any person except counsel for the individual being questioned. 

Fees

   6.  The Minister of the Environment may, for any purpose related to the administration of this Act, establish fees and require their payment by persons required to keep records and submit information under subsections 2 (1) and 3 (1).

Regulations

   7.  The Lieutenant Governor in Council may make regulations prescribing other materials for the purpose of the definition of "recyclable waste" in section 1.

Commencement

   8.  This Act comes into force on the day it receives Royal Assent.  

Short title

   9.  The short title of this Act is the Waste Reporting Act, 2008.

 

EXPLANATORY NOTE

The Bill provides a means for monitoring the way waste is disposed of in Ontario for the purpose of establishing waste reduction targets under the Waste Diversion Act, 2002 and of promoting recycling. Carriers who remove waste from sites where industrial, commercial or institutional activities are carried on are required to ensure that accurate records are kept of the amount of recyclable waste, defined as glass, metal, paper, plastic, textiles and any other prescribed materials, and unsorted waste that they remove from such sites and of the amount of recyclable waste and non-recyclable waste that they remove and deliver to waste disposal sites. They are also required to ensure that this information is submitted to the Minister of the Environment on a quarterly basis. Similar requirements are imposed on persons who own or operate waste disposal sites. Offences are created for failure to comply with the provisions relating to the keeping of records and submitting of information, as well as for keeping or submitting false or misleading information. The Minister of the Environment is to be responsible for auditing and verifying the accuracy of the records kept and the information submitted to it.