During its January 17 session, council reviewed a letter from David Piccini, minister for the environment, conservation and parks, reaffirming the provincial government’s plan to change from the present Blue Box system for collection of recyclable materials like newspaper, bottle glass, cans, some types of plastic, and other materials to “producer responsible” system.

The changeover is scheduled to begin this July and continue in phases until the end of 2025. The minister confirmed that Alfred-Plantagenet « is one of those slated to transition to the new framework in 2023.”

Councillor Ian Walker expressed concern that the provincial government has provided little detail on how its “producer responsible” system is going to work and what impact it will have on existing municipal reycycling programs. He indicated that homeowners may not see any real change in how their recyclable materials are collected, but his main concern was how businesses would be affected.

Councillor Walker noted that businesses may not be included as part of the new plan’s on-site or drive-by collection system and may have to make their own separate contracts for collection of their recyclable materials.

Administration staff told council they are researching and reviewing all information they can get from the provincial government about its “producer responsible” plan for recycling. A detailed report on how the plan will work and how it will affect the township’s recycling situation will be presented during a future council session.