By Doug Hill

Multi-unit buildings make up about 50% of Toronto's households, but, collectively, apartment and condominium dwellers recycle only about 13% of their waste. Recycling in the multi-residential sector is underdeveloped and falls well short of curbside collections from the single-family residential sector.

Blue Boxes for recyclables and Green Bins for organic material have been a reality on Toronto streets for quite some time and people have arguably become accustomed to recycling and participating in the Green Bin program. Indeed, one resident may have summed up the general sentiment when asked if he likes the Green Bin program.

"You don't have to like it. It's a way of life," he said.

Toronto's waste diversion goal is to achieve an overall 70% diversion rate by 2010.  The City has a comprehensive recycling program for single-family homes and is now zeroing in on diversion in the multi-residential sector. The Province of Ontario's regulation 103/94 also stipulates that multi-residential buildings with six or more units must provide recycling programs for residents.

The City of Toronto defines multi-residential as any building with more than nine units that is serviced by containerized collection (front end/rear bin or automated carts) compound or pile services. Multi-residential includes apartments, condominiums and some types of townhouses.

Under Toronto's new multi-residential waste diversion strategy, every unit will receive a set of new recycling containers - one for organics and one for recyclables. All multi-residential units will be getting either a hard-shell recycling bin or a soft-sided tote bag designed for in-unit collection of recyclables, along with a kitchen collector for food waste. Property owners/managers should expect to receive correspondence from the City in November to explain the program.

DELIVERY LOGISTICS

Distribution of the organics collectors is scheduled to begin in December 2008, initially in five small select areas. A mass delivery program, from east to west across the city, ramps up in early 2009 to deliver the containers to all buildings within eighteen months. Delivery of the in-unit recycling containers also begins in December, and is slated to be completed within 12 months.

Building managers/residents will be allowed to choose whether they would prefer hard-shell bins, tote bags or both. Notices will be mailed to property managers during November asking them to indicate, by return mail, how many of each container type is most feasible for their buildings. They will be able to order up to 10% more containers than units in the buildings.

Unlike the door-to-door distribution to single-family dwellings in the City's Green Bin program, the deliveries of both the kitchen collectors and in-unit recycling containers will be dispatched in bulk to the building.

Deliveries will be specifically scheduled and will require a signature from the property manager or building superintendent as proof of delivery so building administrators will have to ensure that an individual is available at the scheduled time to receive and store the ordered containers.

Buildings where residents are not currently participating in a recycling collection program will likely need to come up with ways to monitor participation and implement plans for better recovery. For buildings that participate, the benefits should be readily apparent. Residual garbage should drop sharply, reducing and/or saving collection costs.

As with any new program, there will likely be some unique challenges along the way. Toronto's goal of 70% diversion from landfill is noble and certainly worth the special effort required for this goal to be achieved.