Bill 146 2010

An Act to ban organic waste from landfill sites

Note: This Act amends the Environmental Protection Act.  For the legislative history of the Act, see the Table of Consolidated Public Statutes – Detailed Legislative History at www.e-Laws.gov.on.ca.

Preamble

At present, Ontario is falling behind other provinces of Canada and other countries in the world in the sustainable management of organic waste which includes vegetative, plant and fruit waste and waste of animal origin. Currently, organic waste constitutes approximately one-third of Ontario's waste stream. Although organic waste is compostable, the majority of it is sent to landfill sites where it can produce leachate, namely contaminated rain water and liquid run off, as well as methane and carbon dioxide gases. These by-products are harmful to our atmosphere and ultimately jeopardize the health of Ontarians.

Recent advances in composting technology allow organic waste to be transformed into resource materials for the agricultural, horticultural and landscaping sectors. Using these products will not only lead to a more robust economy but also benefit our environment.

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

Definition

   1.  In this Act,

"Director" means the Director as defined in subsection 1 (2) of the Environmental Protection Act.

Annual progress reports

   2.  (1)  If subsections 40 (2), (3) and (4) of the Environmental Protection Act have not come into force, every local municipality that has a population of at least 5,000 inhabitants shall prepare and submit to the Director an annual report by each anniversary of the day on which this Act receives Royal Assent that occurs before the day on which those subsections come into force.

Contents of report

   (2)  The report shall outline the progress that the municipality is making in complying with subsections 40 (2), (3) and (4) of the Environmental Protection Act before they come into force.

Waste management plan

   3.  (1)  If subsections 40 (2), (3) and (4) of the Environmental Protection Act have not come into force, every local municipality that has a population of at least 5,000 inhabitants shall prepare and submit to the Director, in accordance with subsection (2), a plan outlining how it proposes to comply with subsections 40 (2), (3) and (4) of the Environmental Protection Act.

Time for submission

   (2)  The municipality shall submit the plan to the Director by two years and six months after the day on which this Act receives Royal Assent, unless the Minister who has the power to appoint the Director agrees in writing to extend the deadline to a time which shall be no later than the day subsections 40 (2), (3) and (4) of the Environmental Protection Act come into force.

Environmental Protection Act

   4.  (1)  Section 25 of the Environmental Protection Act is amended by adding the following definition:

"composting site" means,

  (a)  any land upon, into, in or through which, or building or structure in which, organic waste, and no other waste, is designed to be deposited and where the organic waste is designed to transform itself naturally or be treated so that it is transformed into a state in which it is not a contaminant, and

  (b)  any operation carried out or machinery or equipment used in connection with the transformation described in clause (a); ("lieu de compostage")

   (2)  The definition of "operator" in section 25 of the Act is repealed and the following substituted:

"operator" means the person in occupation or having the charge, management or control of a waste management system, a waste disposal site or a composting site; ("exploitant")

   (3)  Section 25 of the Act is amended by adding the following definition:

"organic waste" means,

  (a)  vegetative, plant and fruit waste, other than leaves, grass and wood,

  (b)  waste of animal origin, including meat, fish, bones, carcasses and shells, but not manure and biosolids from residential or industrial sources,

   (c)  paper products, other than diapers and sanitary products,

  (d)  any other material that is designated in the regulations,

  (e)  any combination of materials described in clauses (a) to (d),

but does not include any container or packaging composed of material described in clauses (a) to (e); ("déchets organiques")

   (4)  Both definitions of "owner" in section 25 of the Act are repealed and the following substituted:

"owner" includes,

  (a)  a person that is responsible for the establishment or operation of a waste management system, a waste disposal site or a composting site, or

  (b)  the person that owns the land in or on which a waste disposal site or a composting site is located,

and in section 47, means a person that is responsible for the operation of a well that is a waste disposal site; ("propriétaire")

   (5)  The definition of "waste" in section 25 of the Act is amended by adding "but does not include organic waste" at the end.

   (6)  The definition of "waste management system" in section 25 of the Act is repealed and the following substituted:

"waste management system" means any facilities or equipment used in, and any operations carried out for, the management of waste or organic waste, including the collection, handling, transportation, storage, processing or disposal of waste or organic waste, and may include one or more waste disposal sites or composting sites. ("système de gestion des déchets")

   5.  Section 26 of the Act is amended by adding "or domestic organic waste" after "domestic wastes".

   6.  Subsection 27 (1) of the Act is repealed and the following substituted:

Certificates of approval

   (1)  No person shall use, operate, establish, alter, enlarge or extend a waste disposal site or a waste management system that does not consist solely of one or more composting sites unless the Director has issued a certificate of approval or provisional certificate of approval for it and it is used, operated, established, altered, enlarged or extended, as the case may be, in accordance with any conditions set out in the certificate.

Same, composting site

   (1.1)  No person shall use, operate, establish, alter, enlarge or extend a composting site unless,

  (a)  the Director has issued a certificate of approval or provisional certificate of approval for the site and the site is used, operated, established, altered, enlarged or extended, as the case may be, in accordance with any conditions set out in the certificate; or

  (b)  the site meets the requirements prescribed by the regulations and the site is used, operated, established, altered, enlarged or extended, as the case may be, in accordance with any requirements prescribed by the regulations.

   7.  (1)  Subsection 29 (1) of the Act is amended by striking out "waste be collected" and substituting "waste or organic waste be collected".

   (2)  Subsection 29 (3) of the Act is repealed and the following substituted:

What report may require

   (3)  A report may require a municipality,

  (a)  to collect or transport the waste or organic waste that is specified in the report, including the waste or organic waste from the source outside the boundaries of the municipality that is specified in the report;

  (b)  to accept, process or otherwise deal with the waste or organic waste that is specified in the report, including the waste or organic waste from the source outside the boundaries of the municipality that is specified in the report, in a waste management system, a waste disposal site or a composting site located in or owned, operated or controlled by the municipality;

   (c)  to co-operate with other municipalities that are specified in the report in establishing, maintaining, operating, improving, extending, enlarging, altering, repairing or replacing a joint waste management system.

   (3)  Subsection 29 (5) of the Act is amended by adding "or organic waste" after "waste".

   8.  (1)  Clause 32 (1) (b) of the Act is repealed and the following substituted:

  (b)  a composting site or a waste disposal site, other than a waste disposal site referred to in section 30,

   (2)  Subsection 32 (2) of the Act is repealed and the following substituted:

Notice of hearing

   (2)  If a hearing is held under subsection (1), at least 15 days notice shall be given to the clerk of the municipality in or into which it is proposed to use, operate, establish, alter, extend or enlarge the waste management system, waste disposal site or composting site and to the owners or occupants of the lands adjoining any land upon or in which the site is located or is intended to be located and to the other persons and in the manner that the Tribunal directs.

   9.  Section 35 of the Act is amended by striking out "satisfactory maintenance of the waste management system or the waste disposal site or the removal of waste from the site" in the portion after clause (c) and substituting "satisfactory maintenance of the waste management system, the waste disposal site or the composting site or the removal of waste from the waste disposal site or the composting site".

   10.  (1)  Subsection 36 (1) of the Act is repealed and the following substituted:

Hearing as to by-law

   (1)  If a by-law of a municipality affects the location or operation of a proposed waste disposal site or composting site, the Director, upon the application of the person applying for a certificate of approval for the site, may, by a notice in writing, and on such terms and conditions as he or she may direct, require the Tribunal to hold a public hearing to consider whether or not the by-law should apply to the proposed site.

   (2)  Clause 36 (4) (b) of the Act is amended by adding "or the composting site" at the end.

   (3)  Subsection 36 (5) of the Act is amended by adding "or composting site" after "proposed waste disposal site".

   11.  (1)  Clause 39 (2) (d) of the Act is amended by striking out "or the waste disposal site" and substituting "the waste disposal site or the composting site".

   (2)  Clause 39 (2) (e) of the Act is amended by striking out "or the waste disposal site" and substituting "the waste disposal site or the composting site".

   12.  Section 40 of the Act is amended by adding the following subsections:

Clear bags for waste

   (2)  No person shall deposit, or cause, permit or arrange for the deposit of, waste upon, in, into or through any land or land covered by water where the land is located in a local municipality that has a population of at least 5,000 inhabitants or located in another municipality or in unorganized territory over which the municipality exercises power under section 74 of the Municipal Act, 2001 unless the waste is enclosed in clear bags.

Deposit of organic waste

   (3)  No person shall deposit, or cause, permit or arrange for the deposit of, organic waste upon, in, into or through any land or land covered by water or in any building that is not,

  (a)  a composting site for which a certificate of approval, provisional certificate of approval or renewable energy approval has been issued; or

  (b)  a composting site that meets the requirements prescribed by the regulations.

Treatment of organic waste

   (4)  Organic waste that is deposited in a composting site under subsection (3) shall be treated in accordance with,

  (a)  the certificate or approval if the site is a composting site described in clause (3) (a); or

  (b)  the requirements prescribed by the regulations if the site is a composting site described in clause (3) (b).

   13.  Section 41 of the Act is amended by adding "or organic waste" after "disposal of waste".

   14.  (1)  Subsections 42 (1) and (2) of the Act are repealed and the following substituted:

Ownership of waste or organic waste

   (1)  The ownership of waste or organic waste that is accepted at a waste disposal site or a composting site, as the case may be, by the operator of the site is transferred to the operator upon acceptance.

If waste or organic waste not accepted

   (2)  If waste or organic waste is deposited but not accepted at a waste disposal site or a composting site, as the case may be, the ownership of it shall be deemed to be transferred to the operator of the site immediately before it is deposited.

   (2)  Subsection 42 (3) of the Act is amended by adding "or composting site" after "waste disposal site".

   (3)  Subsections 42 (5) and (6) of the Act are repealed and the following substituted:

Liability

   (5)  Subsections (1) to (4) do not relieve any person from liability except liability as owner of waste or organic waste that is delivered to and accepted by the operator of a waste disposal site or composting site, as the case may be, in accordance with law, including an applicable certificate of approval, provisional certificate of approval or an applicable renewable energy approval.

Owner of land

   (6)  If the operator of a waste disposal site or composting site is not the owner of the land on which the site is located, subsections (1) and (2) do not prevent the ownership of waste or organic waste, as the case may be, that is accepted or deposited at the site from being transferred to the owner of the land.

   15.  Section 43 of the Act is repealed and the following substituted:

Order for removal

   43.  If waste or organic waste has been deposited upon, in, into or through any land or land covered by water or in any building that has not been approved as a waste disposal site or composting site, as the case may be, the Director may issue an order to remove the waste or organic waste and to restore the site to a condition satisfactory to the Director to,

  (a)  an owner or previous owner or a person who otherwise has or had charge and control of the land, building, waste or organic waste;

  (b)  an occupant or previous occupant of the land or building; or

   (c)  a person that the Director reasonably believes engaged in an activity prohibited by section 40 or 41 that resulted in the deposit of the waste or organic waste.

   16.  Section 44 of the Act is amended by striking out "Where a waste management system or a waste disposal site" at the beginning and substituting "If a waste management system, a waste disposal site or a composting site".

   17.  (1)  Subsection 45 (1) of the Act is amended by striking out "waste disposal site or waste management system" in the portion before clause (a) and substituting "waste disposal site, composting site or waste management system".

   (2)  Clause 45 (1) (a) of the Act is amended by striking out "waste disposal site or waste management system" and substituting "waste disposal site, composting site or waste management system".

   18.  Subsection 179 (1) of the Act is amended by striking out "any other Act or regulation" and substituting "any other Act, regulation or municipal by-law".

Commencement and Short Title

Commencement

   19.  (1)  Subject to subsection (2), this Act comes into force on the day it receives Royal Assent.

Same

   (2)  Sections 4 to 18 come into force three years after the day this Act receives Royal Assent.

Short title

   20.  The short title of this Act is the Organic Waste Diversion Act, 2010.

 

EXPLANATORY NOTE

The Bill requires every local municipality that has a population of at least 5,000 inhabitants to prepare and submit to the Director appointed under the Environmental Protection Act an annual progress report outlining how it proposes to comply with amendments that the Bill makes to that Act which come into force three years after the Bill is enacted. The local municipality is also required to prepare and submit to the Director, generally within two years and six months after the Bill is enacted, a plan outlining how it proposes to comply with those amendments.

The Bill amends the Environmental Protection Act. At present, under section 40 of the Act, there is a ban on disposing of waste, except if it is done at a waste disposal site or if it is domestic waste kept on the owner's own land under section 26. Waste includes non-organic waste, but not organic waste which is defined to include vegetative, plant and fruit waste and waste of animal origin, but not leaves, grass, wood and manure. The Bill requires that organic waste be sent to a composting site or kept on the owner's own land under section 26. A composting site must either have a certificate of approval or meet the requirements prescribed by the regulations made under the Act.

To distinguish organic waste from non-organic waste, a person depositing non-organic waste must do so in clear bags.

A report that the Minister can make under section 29 of the Act can direct municipalities to co-operate with each other to establish and operate a joint waste management system.