25 Years of Guiding our Province to a Greener Future

MMSB establishes a Household Hazardous Waste (HHW) Pilot Project to provide the public with safe disposal services. MMSB worked with communities and regional authorities to offer mobile collection for many years until permanent infrastructure was put in place within a number of waste management facilities throughout the province. From 1998 through 2014, MMSB collected over 1.2 million litres of HHW through collection events.

The Get Matched! School Beverage Recycling Program is launched to support school fundraising and encourage recycling in youth. Through the program, MMSB matches the recycling refunds for K-12 schools. To date, over $24.4 million has been raised for schools.

Government of Newfoundland and Labrador assigns responsibility to MMSB for a new Used Tire Management Program, the second province-wide recycling program to be established.  The program was launched in response to changes in the Waste Management Regulations that banned highway tires from going to landfills. The program has resulted in the proper disposal of over 7 million tires.

MMSB provides financial support through the Waste Management Trust Fund to launch the first curbside recycling programs in the province in Corner Brook and Mount Pearl for paper and cardboard.

The Used Beverage Container Recycling Program celebrates a milestone, with over 1 billion containers now diverted from the province’s landfills since 1997.

In conjunction with the Canadian Wireless Telecommunications Association, a Recycle My Cell program is launched in the province offering cell phone users a chance to recycle and properly dispose of old cell phones.

MMSB pursues a new tire derived fuel strategy and begins an agreement to ship used tires to partners in Quebec, providing an economical and environmentally conscious solution for tire disposal.

MMSB releases research on the carbon footprint for the Used Beverage Container Recycling Program for the previous year. The research estimated that the 157 million used beverage containers that were recycled during the previous year saved 8,768 metric tonnes of GHG emissions, equivalent to taking 1,461 cars off the road or planting 8 million trees.

MMSB partners with the Burin Peninsula Waste Management Corporation and the Town of Grand Bank to launch the Curbside Composting Pilot Program. The pilot project engaged with 450 households in the Town of Grand Bank. The program continues today.

The province’s first industry-led provincial program is launched to recycle waste paint. The program takes an extended producer responsibility (EPR) approach, with the Product Care Association managing the program and MMSB providing oversight. To date, over 1.4 million litres of paint has been recycled.

MMSB invests $65,000 from the Waste Management Trust Fund to launch an Illegal Dumping Surveillance Program. The program was developed in partnership with the Town of CBS based on a successful surveillance and enforcement initiative implemented in that community. Through the program, equipment and training was provided to seven municipalities to build capacity to deal with illegal dumping in the province. The number of participating communities grew to 15 in 2014.

Newfoundlanders and Labradorians reach an important milestone in the Used Beverage Container Recycling Program by diverting more than two billion beverage containers from the province’s landfills.

MMSB enters an agreement with Evergreen Recycling to adopt a province wide management information system for Green Depots. The system offers numerous benefits, including: operational efficiencies, quality assurance and real-time intelligence on daily collection rates. The system also allowed MMSB to offer Xpress drop-off service at depots throughout the province.

MMSB streamlines services and signs a deal with Hebert’s Recycling Inc. for the collection and processing of all beverage containers in the province. This new arrangement resulted in scheduling efficiencies and better utilization of labor, an adoption of innovative compaction technology, less trucks on the road resulting in a 50% reduction in emissions and significant cost savings to the organization.

MMSB releases update on implementation of the Provincial Waste Management Strategy, announcing that the waste diversion rate in Newfoundland and Labrador has increased from 7 per cent in 1992 to 28 per cent in 2012. Subsequent reports have reported a steady diversion rate of 25%.

MMSB launches a new partnership with Crime Stoppers to encourage Newfoundlanders and Labradorians to anonymously report suspicious activity related to illegal dumping. The partnership is supported by a public awareness campaign to deter potential offenders from dumping their garbage at unauthorized sites and to promote Crime Stoppers as a province-wide point of contact for reporting illegal dumping. To date, over 190 tips have been submitted through Crime Stoppers.

MMSB launches RethinkWasteNL.ca, a new website that provides Newfoundlanders and Labradorians with easy access to information on properly managing their waste. The site also features educational resources for households, schools, businesses and communities, as well as a search feature to help them find nearby proper disposal and recycling options. Rethink Waste NL has become a call to action for residents to find the right place for their waste.

MMSB launches www.greendepotnl.ca, a dedicated website for the Used Beverage Container Recycling Program. The new site features information on the deposit refund system; what’s accepted in the program; Xpress registration; and a complete listing of contact information and hours of operation for each Green Depot in the province.

MMSB adopts an automated counting system in its Quality Assurance division of its Beverage Recycling Program.  The system has resulted in increased productivity, health, safety and accuracy.

The Used Oil Management Association (UOMA), with oversight from MMSB, launches a new EPR program to recycle used oil and glycol products. During the first full year of the program, UOMA reported over 3.6 million liters of used oil and glycol, as well as 132,000 kilograms of filters and containers, being diverted from landfills.

MMSB launches new Composting Made Easy digital workshops in response to limitations for in-person education due to COVID-19. The workshops promote backyard composting and continue to be offered regularly, with over 500 participants taking part to date.

MMSB releases a report on a Coastline Litter Audit performed in 2019. The audit was performed to quantify and categorize waste that is present on Newfoundland and Labrador’s coastline, as well as to study sources of marine debris.

MMSB completes its 50^th waste audit. The audit was conducted for the Avalon Mall to evaluate the effectiveness of recycling infrastructure and composting practices.

In honour of Come Home Year, MMSB launched a new funding initiative to support the cleanup of litter and improperly disposed bulk items in areas such as roadsides, trails, beaches, parks, and outdoor recreational spaces.      Over $520,000 in funding was awarded to 261 projects.