Issue 132: January 29, 2010

In this Issue:

• Major Upgrade to Blue Box Steward Reporting System
• Accessing the System to File 2010 Steward Reports
• Consultation on Blue Box Program Plan Revisions – Feb. 17

IMPORTANT INFORMATION FOR BLUE BOX STEWARDS

Filing 2010 Steward's Report Suspended until March 1

Stewardship Ontario is pleased to advise Blue Box stewards that we are making major upgrades to our steward reporting system which will improve efficiency and security.

To bring the upgraded system successfully online, however, we need to suspend the filing of 2010 Blue Box Steward Reports until Monday, March 1. The reports are due by Wednesday, March 31. The first quarterly payment which is 25% of the total 2010 fees is due by April 30, 2010.

Stewards who have incomplete Blue Box reports from previous years, will be able to complete submissions in the current system until mid-day, Friday, February 12. After that stewards will have to wait for the new system to be available to complete reports.

Accessing the system to file
2010 Steward’s Reports beginning on March 1

When the system goes live again on Monday, March 1 you will see redesigned reporting screens that are simple and easy to use when you are submitting reports. Before March 1, Stewardship Ontario will send Blue Box steward primary contacts an email that will contain your user ID and a temporary password. In most cases, your user ID will be what you have used over the past year. However, in some cases where the User ID is not unique, e.g., there are two J. Smiths, we will add a character to make each ID individual. 

Since passwords are secure and confidential, we cannot access them for reuse. Therefore, the system will assign a new, unique temporary password. Once you enter the new system, called “WeRecycle.stewardshipontario.ca,” it will ask you to update your password to one of your choice. Supporting documents to introduce you to the system and guide you through the filing process will be provided before the end of February and our customer service team also will be available to help if needed.

Customer Service: Phone 1-888-288-3360; Email: customerservice@stewardshipontario.ca  

Steward/stakeholder Consultation on Revisions to Blue Box Program Plan: Webcast Planned for Wednesday afternoon, Feb. 17

Stewards and stakeholders interested in participating in a consultation webcast on revisions to the Blue Box Program Plan (BBPP) are asked to reserve Wednesday afternoon, Feb. 17 from 1:30 p.m. to approximately 3:00 p.m. EST.

The revisions to the BBPP comply with requests from the Minister of the Environment in his
August 2009 letter to Waste Diversion Ontario. The draft Revised BBPP will include the following topics:

• Achieving an increased Blue Box recycling diversion rate of 70%
• Revising the methodology for calculating diversion by including additional quantities of residential waste collected through non-municipal systems, e.g. private sector pick-up at multi-residential buildings and charity drives
• Including packaging-like materials, sold as products, that are compatible with current collection and management systems, e.g., aluminum pie plates

This consultation is not intended to review 2010 fees nor pre-empt the usual fee setting process and consultation that takes place in early Fall.

Stewardship Ontario will post the draft preliminary plan for stakeholder review prior to the consultation date. In the coming weeks, we will provide additional information about the consultation process and the date the draft plan will be posted.

Stewards and stakeholders are asked to register to attend the webcast. Information concerning how to log on to it will be distributed by email on Feb. 16 to those who have registered.

Questions can be directed to: Customer Service at 1-888-288-3360; Email: customerservice@stewardshipontario.ca