October, 2009

Fundamental Principles of Recycling: End-of-October Training Session Accepting Municipal Applicants

A pilot project developed by Stewardship Ontario in concert with Municipal Waste Association (MWA) in May proved so successful that it has paved the way for the first four-day training project on “Fundamental Principles in Recycling” to take place from October 26 to 30 at Fleming College in Peterborough. Applications for up to 25 municipal recycling staff to take the training course currently are being accepted. The course is being offered free of charge.

As with the May pilot, the October course will focus on essential recycling issues such as:

• collection
• processing
• promotion and education (P&E)
• material marketing, and
• policies supporting recycling.

Since September 2008, Stewardship Ontario has been working with MWA and adult education experts, Stantec, to develop and execute the course. The training program responds to recommendations made in the 2008 Beck report on recycling “best practices” which highlighted the need for consistent training for municipal recycling staff in fundamental recycling issues and other specialized areas.

The pilot course attracted participants from across Ontario, including Cornwall, Quinte, Ottawa Valley, Toronto and other GTA municipalities, Haldimand, Stratford, Guelph, Simcoe County, Orillia, Peterborough, County of Peterborough, Northumberland, Schreiber, Thunder Bay and West Nipissing.

A 16-member, volunteer steering committee has contributed essential expertise to the project. Input on content development and delivery has come from individuals with both public and private sector backgrounds with skills in post-secondary education, adult training and continuing education, and recycling.

The project team is currently drawing together a faculty of experienced recyclers to deliver additional core sessions, with a planned delivery date of later this fall. The team is also developing four additional specialized training programs in P&E, markets and marketing, contract management and data management.

Applications to attend the fall Recycling Fundamentals course, or the pilot delivery of specialized courses on P&E, markets and marketing, contract management or data management, can be directed to John Dixie, 416-594-3456, Ext. 3366, jdixie@stewardedge.ca or Vivian De Giovanni, 519-823-1990, Vivian@municipalwaste.ca. All courses are provided free of charge over a four-day period (fundamentals training) or two-day period (specialized curriculum).

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In-the-Loop is an e-newsletter designed to provide news about Stewardship Ontario’s initiatives and related topics to municipal waste management staff. Comments are welcome. To subscribe or unsubscribe, contact Barbara McConnell, VP Communications & Stakeholder Relations at bmcconnell@stewardshipontario.ca