A new report says corporations should be responsible for the cost of recycling the waste they produce. (CBC)

The corporate world and not consumers should be responsible for the cost of Ontario's recycling program, which could be improved if blue bin rules were standardized across the province providing a better understanding of dos and don'ts, suggests a new report commissioned by the government.

Currently, the cost of Ontario's blue bin program is split 50-50 between municipalities and Stewardship Ontario, which acts on behalf of all companies that introduce packaging and printed material into the province's marketplace.

But companies should be put on notice that they'll have five years to prepare for a new arrangement in which they're responsible for the full tab, concludes a draft report by Waste Diversion Ontario, an arm's-length organization that runs the province's recycling programs.

Stakeholders told Waste Diversion Ontario they believe packaging will become more environmentally friendly if companies are fully responsible for recycling costs.

"What we have been doing is putting a package on the marketplace and trying to develop [recycling] around that package," said Jo-Anne St. Godard, executive director of the non-profit Recycling Council of Ontario.

"And it really should be the other way around."

But the report also notes that concerns have been raised about the government's need to retain control of recycling regulations.

"Many stakeholders commented that stewards would naturally gravitate to the lowest-cost approach to implementing the blue box program and would not take environmental policy objectives into account without clear direction to do so," the report states.

"These stakeholders suggested that stewards must operate within a policy framework established by government and with appropriate oversight."

Plastic recycling lags

While the blue bin program successfully hit its target of 60 per cent waste diversion by 2008, there's still particular concern about the low recycling rate for plastics.

In 2007, only 22 per cent of various forms of plastic packaging were diverted from landfills to be recycled.

It's hoped that rate could be increased to 50 per cent within five years, and the report recommends that financial penalties be implemented if targets aren't hit.

The report also calls for a minimum waste diversion target of 75 per cent within five years.

Recycling rates would likely be boosted if people had a better understanding of exactly what belongs in the blue bins, and it's being recommended that the rules be standardized as much as possible across the province.

"Uniformity would help the resident understand what they can and cannot put into the blue box, and the hope from our perspective is if we could standardize what goes into the blue box, it could help people make better purchasing decisions," said St. Godard.

"What we ultimately want people to do with the blue box is prevent waste by choosing the right kind of packaging in the store."

The report also suggests that innovation in recycling could fuel Ontario's green economy and lead to more energy production from waste.

Kevin Gaudet of the Canadian Taxpayers Federation said he's concerned that even if municipalities get off the hook for recycling costs, homeowners won't.

"If they're going to save money for the cities through the blue box program ... the only way to offset that for consumers is to have the property tax be reduced," he said.

"Otherwise, consumers get the shaft as usual."

Waste Diversion Ontario is holding a workshop and webcast on Feb. 12 to discuss the draft recommendations and will send its final report to the environment minister by March 20.

Other recommendations in the report include:

• Improving diversion rates by increasing user costs for garbage disposal and operating more alternate collection systems like depots and return-to-retail programs.
• Implementing a review process and regulations to prevent the introduction of new packaging that is difficult to recycle.
• Studying how much recyclable waste is generated by the industrial, commercial and institutional sectors and whether it can be incorporated into the blue bin program.