The Ontario Government is planning a complete overhaul of the blue bin program in the province, and though this may surprise you, the City of Toronto completely supports the idea, according to CTV News.  

A report was released a few days ago in which former senior deputy minister David Lindsay recommended that businesses, who are the ones producing a significant amount of the waste, provide blue box collection and pay for it too. 

Currently, the blue bin program is run by the Ontario Stewardship Council and the cost is divided between municipalities. 

#Ontario, #Canada may ditch blue box #recycling program after report finds 30% of its contents go in trash

— Noorani Tejani (@NooraniTejani) August 9, 2019

This change would be phased in over the next six or seven years, and the province argues it's needed since costs of the current program are expected to increase $10 million dollars a year. 

In an interview with 680 NEWS, Environment Minister Jeff Yurek also said it's important, since 30 per cent of items in the blue bin currently end up in landfills.

And in a rare instance, the City of Toronto actually agrees. 

Annette Synowiec, Director of Policy with the Solid Waste Management department, told CTV News she "fully supports" the change. 

She added that the move would surely save Toronto millions and homeowners will also benefit from the switch.

“The lack of consistency around what is and isn't included in the blue bin from one jurisdiction to another is a major source of confusion for people,” Synowiec told CTV News Toronto in an email.

“A standardized list will help people better participate in recycling programs wherever they are in the province.”

It's because people are idiots and throw all kinds of non recyclables or scummy unwashed jars and cans in their blue box....contaminating the contents so they are trashed. #Ontario
Ontario government may ditch blue box program after report finds 30% sent to dump.

— Angela Joy (@Angie_Joy) August 8, 2019

The original blue bin program came into effect in Kitchener in 1981.

Municipalities have yet to figure out how exactly they'll cover costs for the new program, but Synowiec says businesses could either take over the process completely or hire the city to operate it at a reduced rate.

It's unknown exactly how much money the overhaul could save, but at least we'll be able to drop more stuff into the blue bin soon enough.