Blue Box Litter Project
In late 2018, Regional Council directed Waste Management staff to investigate ways to help prevent litter caused by the Blue Box set out on windy days. A series of neighbourhoods in Ajax, Clarington and Whitby in 2018/19 were chosen to test and evaluate several different options to prevent Blue Box litter. The options included: providing the residence with an additional blue box to prevent overflowing blue boxes; providing the residence with enhanced promotion and educational materials to manage bins during windy days; and supplying tools, including a new prototype lid made from recycled tires that when affixed would keep material secure and not blow away.
Stewardship Ontario’s Continuous Improvement Fund, will further investigate in 2020 the effectiveness of the crumb rubber lid to mitigate litter and look at the impact on marketable blue box material. Ten test neighbourhoods in Durham Region were carefully chosen for this research project to reflect a similar make up of Ontario neighbourhoods. From October 2020 – April 2021 just under 1000 homes will be part of this study and all will have blue box lids. The results will be analyzed and reported to Regional Council in 2021.
Blue Box Litter Project frequently asked questions
| Where is this Litter Project taking place? |
|
Consultants are auditing blue box material and testing lids in small areas throughout the Region. The Region will receive the final report on the results of the pilot project in the Spring of 2021. |
| How were these areas chosen? |
|
The test neighbourhoods were carefully chosen from areas known for high volumes of litter. They also met one of ten provincial neighbourhood defined categories based on age and type of home. |
| Why are some people using Blue Box lids? |
|
As part of the initial Blue Box Litter Project, a small area was chosen to do a trial test of the Blue Box lids. These Blue Box lids are designed to help reduce litter. Durham Region is excited to test (through a pilot project) this innovative concept designed by Regional staff. The Region is just testing these lids at this time to collect data on how well they work. |
| Can I have a Blue Box lid to try? |
| At this time, the Region is conducting a small trial test with a limited number of lids to collect data on how it works. It’s too early to begin wide-spread distribution, as we want to learn more about the current design of the lid and how well it works. |
| What are the lids made of? |
| The lids were made from recycled tires, the lid is heavy enough not to blow away, holding recyclable materials securely in place. |
| How do these lids work? |
| The lids are made from recycled tires and simply slip over the corners of the blue box, making it easy for both residents and collection workers to remove—while hopefully preventing Blue Box contents from blowing away. |
| Is Durham going to test Toronto-style carts with wheels? |
| Durham Region does not have plans to transition from manual curbside collection to an automated cart-based system. |
| Why isn’t Durham looking at Toronto-style carts? |
| Larger wheeled carts are incompatible with the Region’s existing two-stream recycling processing facility and the benefit of producing the highest material quality for end market use – cart-based programs have significant amounts of garbage (contamination), affect material quality and lower revenues. |
| What is the cost of the bigger carts with wheels? |
| Carts come with substantial financial costs, estimated to be $12 to $15 million for the containers alone – excluding the significant costs for specialized trucks and support system to maintain, repair and replace carts. |
Contact Us