Getting The Facts Straight On Ontario’s Blue Box BY JOHN MULLINDER
Board Converting NEWS INTERNET DIRECTORY
OHIO BLOW PIPE/ADVANCED AIRSYSTEMS www.obpairsystems.com For 85 years the Ohio Blow Pipe company and its whol- ly owned subsidiary, Advanced Airsystems, have provided the corrugated and folding carton industries with systems and products to process scrap. We engineer, fabricate, in- stall, service, provide system audits, and offer a wide range of scrap systems, dust collection systems and products to include cyclones, under roof AIR-SCREEN™ systems, pit belt systems, CLEANAIR dust collectors, Mist-Clone™ dust control systems for vacuum feeds, material handling fans, ductwork, switch valves, airveyors, balers, shredders and dust briquetters. OMP www.omp.com OMP helps companies facing complex planning challenges to excel, grow and thrive by offering the best digitized sup- ply chain planning solution on the market. Its Unison Plan- ning concept has a unique approach. It handles all supply chain planning challenges in a unified way, synchronizing all planning stages, horizons, functions and roles. Hundreds of customers run OMP’s cloud-based solution to generate more value by making informed decisions. OMP invests one out of every three dollars earned into innovation.
The current debate over what to do about Ontario’s Blue Box frequently confuses at least four distinct but interre-
lated issues: waste management in general; the recycling option; the relative roles of industry and householders; and the nature of the Blue Box program itself. First, the broader context. The Blue Box program is just one waste collection system, among many. Others include the depos-
John Mullinder
it/return systems for beverage containers run by the Beer Store and the province itself through the Liquor Control Board of Ontario; some industry stewardship programs; private sector recycling efforts; and numerous return-to-re- tail options. The Blue Box program does not, and was never intend- ed to, address the almost 13 million tonnes of waste that Ontario generates every year. To suggest, as some crit- ics have, that the Blue Box is somehow failing because it focuses on only about 10 percent of Ontario’s generated waste, totally ignores its objective and scope. What are these critics suggesting? That we should load up our Blue Boxes with meat scraps and leaves, rusty fridges and stoves, and old planks of plywood? These are best handled in other ways (used tires, laptops and cell- phones, for example, already have separate, industry-led stewardship programs). But the province does need to act more urgently on this front because it will run out of landfill space within 12 years. Typically, it takes between five to 10 years of consul- tations and reviews just to get all the approvals in place to site a new one. Remember NIMBY and NIMTOO (not in my backyard and not in my term of office)? The clock is ticking on this one. Disposal bans and landfill surcharges have been adopt- ed in other provinces and regions, with varying degrees of success. For its part, the paper packaging industry has for seven years now lobbied successive Ontario ministers of the environment to introduce disposal bans, specifically on organics and paper (which give off greenhouse gases when left to rot in landfill). The province has talked a lot but done little. Blue Box Is A Residential System Second, the Blue Box program is a residential waste collection system. It focuses on what is in Ontario homes. It was never intended to collect materials from factories or supermarkets, offices or hospitals. And for good rea- son. The wastes from these operations are quite different in both nature and percentage composition. A Blue Box for wire strapping, chemicals, steel drums, and wooden
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GF PUHL www.gfpuhl.com
GF PUHL designs, manufactures and installs air conveyed scrap & dust collection systems for the packaging and cor- rugated industries. With 37 years of experience, USA and International. We offer below or above roof systems featur- ing cyclones OR screen separators with real time pressure balancing for optimal dust control. High efficiency cyclones for sheet transfer exhaust systems eliminate water con- sumption and deliver dust directly to compactor or briquet- ter for low maintenance, long term sustainability and reli- ability. System audits, dust explosivity tests and dust hazard analysis (DHA’s) available. Re-manufactured balers, filters, blowers and shredders available at significant savings.
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