October, 2009

Third Quarter WDO MHSW Reports are Due on November 12; WDO Says Late Filing May Result in Penalties

Phase 1 of the Municipal Hazardous or Special Waste (MHSW) Program began just over a year ago. Since then, 103 municipalities have signed agreements with Stewardship Ontario to collect and manage designated materials. These efforts, combined with the more than 350 special events and MHSW materials from commercial sites have resulted in the collection of 16,200 tonnes to date.

As with the Blue Box program, tracking materials flow and reimbursing partners for post-collection services is essential to monitoring and improving system performance. The WDO’s MHSW reports provide vital information about the amount of MHSW collected, reused, recycled and disposed, enabling Stewardship Ontario to track MHSW from collection to final destination.

The number of delinquent municipal reports has prompted the Municipal-Industry Programs Committee (MIPC) of WDO to develop a MHSW Report Late Submission Policy that was approved by the WDO Board of Directors in the spring. The policy requires that municipalities file MHSW reports no later than six weeks (42 days) after the end of each calendar quarter or face penalties of:

• 10% of the cost of the reimbursement for reports that are up to five days late
• 25% of the cost of the reimbursement for reports that are more than five days late.

The new policy took effect on July 1, 2009 and will first apply to third quarter filings for 2009. Reports are due on November 12, 2009 as November 11 is a holiday for many municipalities. Municipalities may apply for an extension due to extenuating circumstances by submitting a written request to customerservice@stewardshipontario.ca before the report deadline. For more information, click on www.stewardshipontario.ca/mhsw/pdf/municipal/wdo_late_policy.pdf

To file collection reports: www.wdo.ca using your municipal access information provided by the WDO.

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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