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Susan Lo to lead Ontario Blue Box and hazardous waste transition

Resource Productivity and Recovery Authority has appointed their new Administrator of Stewardship Ontario

Blue box sitting on a lawn
Ontario's curbside blue box residential program was the first in the world, established in Kitchener in 1981.

The Resource Productivity and Recovery Authority (RPRA) has appointed former Ontario Assistant Deputy Minister Susan Lo as Administrator of Stewardship Ontario, to oversee the province's current transition to EPR-based programs for residential curbside blue box materials and for Municipal Hazardous or Special Waste (MHSW).

As Administrator, Lo will oversee operations of Stewardship Ontario, the industry funding organization responsible for the administration of the programs, following the planned resignation of its Board of Directors.

Transitioning the governance of Stewardship Ontario, which comes after the release of the final Blue Box Regulation by the Ontario government on June 3rd and the release of the final Hazardous and Special Products Regulation on June 7th will allow stewards who served on the Board to focus on meeting the new regulatory requirements for businesses to assume full financial and operational responsibility and accountability for the MHSW and Blue Box programs.

"I am excited to be part of the transformation of Ontario's iconic Blue Box Program and the MHSW Program. By making producers 100% financially responsible and individually accountable for their products and packaging once consumers are finished using them and introducing competition into the market for resource recovery services, the new regulatory regime will contribute to making Ontario greener and more prosperous," said Ms. Lo.

"Susan's extensive executive experience as an Assistant Deputy Minister in the Ontario Government, including the environment, energy and transportation portfolios, as well as her experience overseeing the wind up of the Green Ontario Fund, will ensure Stewardship Ontario continues to have strong and effective oversight as it enters this critical phase of the transformation of the Blue Box Program and the MHSW Program," said Robert Poirier, Chair of the Authority's Board of Directors.

The Administrator appointment is part of a coordinated plan with Stewardship Ontario to transition the organization's governance to facilitate the orderly wind up of both programs and transition it to Ontario's new producer responsibility regulatory framework outlined in the new Blue Box and Hazardous and Special Products regulations.

As part of this coordinated process, Stewardship Ontario has established a Steward Advisory Group to support Ms. Lo and the management of Stewardship Ontario by providing advice and feedback on the implementation of the Blue Box wind-up plan.

"I look forward to working closely with Stewardship Ontario's management team, engaging with the Steward Advisory Group and municipalities, and working collaboratively with the Authority to ensure the transition of the Blue Box and MHSW programs is smooth and consistent with the approved wind-up plans," added Ms. Lo.

Company info

4711 Yonge Street, Suite 408
Toronto, ON
CA, M2N 6K8

Website:
rpra.ca

Phone number:
(416) 226-5113

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