Resolutions

Whereas residential recycling is an essential part of solid waste management in Saskatchewan, and a key part of the Government of Saskatchewan’s goal of diverting 40 per cent of the waste that would otherwise end up in ever-growing municipal landfills; and Whereas many municipalities are unable to afford a municipal residential recycling program without an outside funding program; and Whereas in 2013 the Government of Saskatchewan enacted The Household Packaging and Paper Stewardship Program Regulations, which requires businesses that supply household waste into Saskatchewan to take part in such a funding program; and Whereas in response to the regulations, Multi-Material Stewardship Western (MMSW) proposed, and the Government of Saskatchewan approved, of the MMRP to help fund municipal residential recycling programs; and Whereas MMSW recently terminated funding agreements with 314 municipalities and indicated that a program will not be forthcoming until mid-2015, and may not be fully funded; and Whereas the delay of the MMRP puts municipal residential recycling programs at risk, as municipal governments may need to increase taxes and residential fees to pay for their residential recycling programs or abandon the programs entirely; Therefore be it resolved that SUMA call upon the Government of Saskatchewan and MMSW to immediately to implement a reliable and fully-funded MMRP, ensure that all interested municipalities can register, and immediately strike the MMSW MMRP Advisory Committee.