Page 15 - U4SSC Case study: Circularity to promote local businesses and digitization, June 2020

Case Study 3 – Development of a circular procurement framework
city of Toronto

Lead author: Annette Synowiec

Additional authors/contributors: Kathy Raddon; Dr Kamara Jeffrey

Introduction

Background

Toronto is Canada's largest city, the fourth largest in North America, and home to a diverse population
of about 2.8 million people. Toronto has an aspirational goal of being a Circular City with a zero-waste
future as outlined in the City's Solid Waste master plan, approved by Toronto City Council in July 2016
titled the Long-Term Waste Management Strategy (Waste Strategy).

The Waste Strategy recommended the creation of a new unit within Solid Waste Management Services
Division, called the Unit for Research Innovation and a Circular Economy (UFRICE). In 2017/2018, an
initial task of the new unit was to establish a Cross Division Circular Economy Working Group (CDCE)
and to develop a city procurement strategy to drive waste diversion through the circular economy, in
cooperation with the City's Purchasing and Materials Management Division.

Challenge and response

The need for a comprehensive ‘Waste Strategy’ was identified in 2013, when the Solid Waste Management
Services (SWMS) Division provided the Council's Public Works and Infrastructure Committee with a
status update of the 2004 ‘Target 70’ plan initiatives. The update explained why the goal of 70 per cent
diversion from landfill was not achieved, pointing in part to changes to waste composition and measures
used in the targets. For example, the light weighting of packaging and a decline in newsprint resulted
in fewer tonnes of waste entering the recycling stream, even though the volume of recycling (and
costs of recycling) remained high. To establish new optimistic, effective and achievable waste targets,
SWMS considered the current state, including the limitations to recycling, such as high processing
costs, high contamination rates and challenges around implementing programmes that include the
multiresidential and commercial sectors.

Case study: Circularity to promote local businesses and digitization, June 2020 9