The Region of Queens is closing its recycling facility, which will result in job losses. (Nick Fewings via Unsplash)

UPDATED AT 3 p.m. Wednesday

Employees at the Region of Queens materials recovery facility will be laid off when the depot closes on Dec. 1.

The region said in a news release late Tuesday afternoon that the layoffs and closure are because of provincial changes to how recyclables are handled. The region’s solid waste facility employs 13 people, but the release did not say how many employees are affected.

Mayor Scott Christian told QCCR on Wednesday that eight employees work at the recycling facility. But he said the municipality will try to move them or retrain them for other available positions with the region.

“The first step is to try to retain staff if that’s possible to keep people in the organization and if they can’t be kept then to lay them off. And then whatever is contained legally in the bargaining agreement, we’d go from there,” he said.

“It sucks, it sucks. It’s challenging times, life is tricky to afford and there’s not a lot of good paying jobs in the community. It’s certainly not a decision that we made lightly.”

Christian said waste collection won’t change in the municipality. Collection dates or methods won’t be affected. The solid waste management facility will remain open. This change affects only who sorts the recyclable material.

In August 2023, the Nova Scotia government amended the Environmental Act to make recycling packaging and paper the responsibility of the producer, otherwise known as extended producer responsibility.

“No impact to the resident experience, it’s just that now with the extended producer responsibility … the producers of the packaging waste are responsible for figuring out what’s happening to that waste,” Christian said.

“It’s now the responsibility of the Jeff Bezos and the Walmarts of the world to deal with their own packaging.”

Circular Materials is a company formed by corporations that produce packaging waste, such as Loblaw, Coca-Cola, McDonald’s and others.

Christian said that company also offered to collect the recyclables, but the region opted out of that.

Jim Sponagle, business manager for Local 1928 of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, told QCCR on Tuesday that he found out about the job losses from a member of the local who works at the facility.

“The Region of Queens at no point contacted the union to advise the union what their intention was. Very disappointing,” he said in an interview.

“(We’ve) completely been blindsided by it. No discussion with the union, no conversation, we were completely in the dark.”

He said relations between the region and the union have not improved since a week-long strike in January, when almost 40 engineering and public works employees walked off the job for higher wages and improved overtime benefits.

Sponagle said Tuesday that some workplace issues are still outstanding from before the strike. He said he’d be contacting the union’s legal adviser to see how it can respond to the layoffs.

“I’m sympathetic to the members who will be losing their jobs. It’s disappointing for sure. We went through tough negotiation and we landed on a strike and I hope that wasn’t a determining factor as to why they chose to contract that work out that’s been done there for years. I can only sympathize with the members affected by the decision of the region.”

CAO Willa Thorpe said in the release that the municipality is “working directly with impacted employees at the MRF site to help them transition at this difficult time.”

Email: rickconradqccr@gmail.com

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Paper recycling. Photo Ed Halverson

Nova Scotia is taking the first steps to making the industries that create much of the waste going into landfills responsible for disposal when people are finished with it.

On Wednesday August 2, government announced new extended producer responsibility (EPR) programs for batteries, lamps, and small household electric appliances, as well as packaging, paper products and other blue bag materials.

Government will make producers responsible for the waste they create in two ways. The first, will introduce a new set of EPR regulations covers packaging, paper products and materials in the residential blue bag recycling program.

Under the new program, producers are responsible to pay for, collect, and recycle the materials. The province will consider the producers as the manufacturer, distributer or retailer depending on which entity is based in Nova Scotia.

Producers will have to meet recycling targets that will encourage more eco-friendly packaging and reduce single-use plastics. Having producers cover the cost of recycling will save Nova Scotia municipalities around $25 million annually.

The second part involves changing the Solid Waste-Resource Management Regulations to include programs for batteries, lamps and small household electric appliances, such as irons, can openers and hair dryers.

Under the Environmental Goals and Climate Change Reduction Act the Province aims to reduce waste disposal rates to 300 kilograms per person per year by 2030. EPR programs are a crucial step to achieve this milestone. Nova Scotia already has EPR programs for some electronics, paint, used oil and glycol.

The new programs will come into effect on various dates over the next 28 months.

E-mail: edhalversonnews@gmail.com

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