14
1 Wastes Generation, Characterization, Management Strategies …
Diversion Act, which promotes the waste reduction, reuse and recycling; the Environmental Assessment Act, which provides strategies for protection, conservation and
wise management of the environment; and the Planning Act, which provides policies
for sustainable economic development in a healthy natural environment [31].
Municipalities can also form their own by-laws and policies as mentioned in
Municipal Government Act through three primary approaches: passing by-laws for
waste disposal, passing regulations through local health authorities and developing
zoning by-laws for waste disposal and handling facilities [28]. For example, the city
of London, Ontario, by-laws for waste management include: Municipal Waste and
Resource Materials Collection By-law-WM-12, which regulates the collection of
municipal waste and resource materials in the City of London; Waste Discharge Bylaw-WM-16, which regulates the discharge of wastes into the public sewage works
and of hauled liquid waste; and Wastewater and Stormwater By-law-WM-28, which
is for wastewater and stormwater drainage system [32].
In addition, Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) has been adopted as an
effective command and control strategy for waste management [28]. The EPR refers
to a strategy in which the producer’s physical and financial responsibility for the treatment or disposal of product is extended to the post-consumer stage of a product’s
life cycle. It is designed to provide incentives to prevent waste at the source, improve
the environmentally friendly designs for the product, and support the recycling and
materials management goals. The intention of EPR is to shift the public sector responsibility for waste to the brand owners, first importers and manufacturers [7, 28]. In
Canada, both EPR and “product stewardship” programs are used to manage products
at their end-of-life. Product stewardship programs assign responsibilities to provincial/territorial or municipal governments and use legislated governmental fees or
public funds as the funding base. The Canadian Council of Ministers of the Environment (CCME) has developed a Canada-wide action plan for EPR to support the
move toward greater producer responsibility, including work towards transforming
“product stewardship” initiatives into full EPR programs [33].
(2) Economic and institutional policies
Economic and institutional policies in the form of employing incentives, taxes and
providing investments for emerging technologies can influence waste management
and recycling behavior [37]. Government can introduce policies to encourage waste
minimization and recycling by providing policy-based incentives to the supplyside, demand-side and both demand and supply sides. The best policy is a balance
between practicality, affordability, and political and social acceptability. Examples
of the policy-based incentives to encourage improved recycling include employing
taxes on waste disposal and developing programs for deposit-refund (for example,
for beverage containers), charges for single-use items and packaging, electronic
stewardship program, etc. [28].
(3) Education and monitoring
Education and awareness are essential to changing the traditional view about waste
and influencing their lifestyle choices to support resource recovery. Examples include
1 Wastes Generation, Characterization, Management Strategies …
Diversion Act, which promotes the waste reduction, reuse and recycling; the Environmental Assessment Act, which provides strategies for protection, conservation and
wise management of the environment; and the Planning Act, which provides policies
for sustainable economic development in a healthy natural environment [31].
Municipalities can also form their own by-laws and policies as mentioned in
Municipal Government Act through three primary approaches: passing by-laws for
waste disposal, passing regulations through local health authorities and developing
zoning by-laws for waste disposal and handling facilities [28]. For example, the city
of London, Ontario, by-laws for waste management include: Municipal Waste and
Resource Materials Collection By-law-WM-12, which regulates the collection of
municipal waste and resource materials in the City of London; Waste Discharge Bylaw-WM-16, which regulates the discharge of wastes into the public sewage works
and of hauled liquid waste; and Wastewater and Stormwater By-law-WM-28, which
is for wastewater and stormwater drainage system [32].
In addition, Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) has been adopted as an
effective command and control strategy for waste management [28]. The EPR refers
to a strategy in which the producer’s physical and financial responsibility for the treatment or disposal of product is extended to the post-consumer stage of a product’s
life cycle. It is designed to provide incentives to prevent waste at the source, improve
the environmentally friendly designs for the product, and support the recycling and
materials management goals. The intention of EPR is to shift the public sector responsibility for waste to the brand owners, first importers and manufacturers [7, 28]. In
Canada, both EPR and “product stewardship” programs are used to manage products
at their end-of-life. Product stewardship programs assign responsibilities to provincial/territorial or municipal governments and use legislated governmental fees or
public funds as the funding base. The Canadian Council of Ministers of the Environment (CCME) has developed a Canada-wide action plan for EPR to support the
move toward greater producer responsibility, including work towards transforming
“product stewardship” initiatives into full EPR programs [33].
(2) Economic and institutional policies
Economic and institutional policies in the form of employing incentives, taxes and
providing investments for emerging technologies can influence waste management
and recycling behavior [37]. Government can introduce policies to encourage waste
minimization and recycling by providing policy-based incentives to the supplyside, demand-side and both demand and supply sides. The best policy is a balance
between practicality, affordability, and political and social acceptability. Examples
of the policy-based incentives to encourage improved recycling include employing
taxes on waste disposal and developing programs for deposit-refund (for example,
for beverage containers), charges for single-use items and packaging, electronic
stewardship program, etc. [28].
(3) Education and monitoring
Education and awareness are essential to changing the traditional view about waste
and influencing their lifestyle choices to support resource recovery. Examples include