[This report was considered concurrently with the Solid Waste Services Long Range Financial Plan report, 2025-2053 (ACS2024-FCS-FIN-0008)]
Report Recommendation(s)
That the Environment and Climate Change Committee recommend that Council:
- Approve the Solid Waste Master Plan, including actions and initiatives to support Ottawa’s future waste management system, as outlined in this report and attached as Supporting Document 1;
- Direct staff to immediately begin the planning and implementation for Action Suites scheduled for Year 1 of the Solid Waste Master Plan, as detailed in this report, with an update on implementation progress to be provided 12 months post-implementation; and,
- Receive the What We Learned Report, attached as Supporting Document 2.
At the outset, Mr. Alain Gonthier, General Manager, Public Works Department (PWD) introduced Ms Shelley McDonald, Director, Solid Waste Services, PWD, Ms Nichole Hoover-Bienasz, Program Manager, Long Term Planning, PWD and Ms Isabelle Jasmin, Deputy City Treasurer, Corporate Finance, Finance and Corporate Services (FCS) Department, who each, in turn, spoke to a detailed slide presentation which served as an overview of this report and of the report on the subject of the Solid Waste Services Long Range Financial Plan, 2025-2053 (ACS2024-FCS-FIN-0008), as these reports were considered concurrently. A copy of the slide presentation is held on file with the Office of the City Clerk. Mr. Cyril Rogers, General Manager and Chief Financial Officer, FCS, was also present to respond to questions.
Councillor Menard, deemed to have stepped away from the Chair, introduced the following Direction to Staff:
Direction to Staff (S. Menard):
Re: Accessibility of Hazardous Waste Events
The Solid Waste Master Plan lists the development of a Hazardous Waste Strategy to be planned in year 1 for implementation in year 2. The current Household Hazardous Waste Events are of a size and located primarily so that they are accessible by vehicle traffic only. Staff in Solid Waste Services are directed to consider as part of the Hazardous Waste Strategy development the opportunity for smaller, pedestrian accessible events or locations in the core to provide service to those residents that do not have access to an automobile. Staff are further directed to report back to Council no later than Q1 2025 on the Municipal Hazardous Solid Waste Strategy.
Staff agreed to take on this Direction.
The Committee then heard from the following delegations:
- Ms Kate Reekie+, Community Associations for Environmental Sustainability (CAFES)
- Mr. William van Geest, Ecology Ottawa
- Ms Sevda Zaynali
- Mr. Bill Brown*
- Mr. James Scott MacKillop*
[ + Slide presentations are held on file with the Office of the City Clerk. ]
[ * Submissions are held on file with the Office of the City Clerk. ]
In response to questions from Councillor A. Hubley regarding waste diversion rates, staff offered to follow up with the Councillor off-line and to provide a more detailed response before the Council meeting of Tuesday, 25 June 2024. Following questions to the delegations and to staff, and with Committee discussions having concluded, Councillor Menard, deemed to have stepped away from the Chair, introduced the following Direction to Staff:
Direction to Staff (S. Menard):
Re: Solid Waste Master Plan Action Suite Funding Process
The Waste Avoidance, Reuse and Reduction Initiatives Action Suite recommends the development of a grant program as a way to incentivize waste avoidance, reduction and reuse, among a series of other actions including repair cafes and re-use events in partnership with community agencies. For the purposes of the Solid Waste Master Plan and Long Range Financial Plan, rolled-up budget estimates for the first 5 years have been presented. Staff have indicated that an estimated $350,000 per year has been included in the Solid Waste Long Range Financial Plan to fund initiatives in this action suite and that funding that aligns with the Council approved Long Range Financial Plan will be presented as part of the annual budget process.
Staff in Solid Waste Services are directed to work with Finance Services to develop a comprehensive process to present annual budget requests for each action suite supplemental to the budget tabling process every year. Staff are further directed as part of the development of a grant program to be presented to Council for approval, to include the grant funding as part of the multi-year budget. The first year to be approved by Council as part of the annual budget process and the final three years identified as forecasted to provide transparency to community agencies and partners wishing to apply for financial support.
Staff agreed to take on the above Direction.
The report recommendations for both this report and the Solid Waste Services Long Range Financial Plan, 2025-2053 (ACS2024-FCS-FIN-0008) were then put before Committee and were ‘CARRIED’, as presented, along with the above Directions to Staff, as noted.