On November 26th 2025, Mayor Mark Sutcliffe announced that the City of Ottawa would move forward with a competitive bid to acquire the Taggart-Miller site in Carlsbad Springs.
Ottawa is looking for a waste management solution once the Trail Road landfill reaches capacity. The Taggart-Miller site has already acquired provincial permits and approvals to operate as a landfill taking in residential and industrial waste. This is a unique opportunity for the City to obtain land which has already gone through a 15-year permitting process to act as a landfill. However, the site is located within the Bear Brook watershed and sits atop sensitive leda clay.
Measures are currently in place to prolong the lifespan of Trail Road until 2055. This includes waste reduction initiatives such as the 3 bag limit, diversion of organics and recyclables, making use of private land-fills, and a prospective expansion of the facility (permitting for the expansion is well-underway). With the cumulative impact of these measures and increased effort put into public education, waste reduction, and diversion, the lifespan of the Trail Road site can extend beyond 2055. Therefore, if Trail Road is used until it reaches capacity, a new landfill would not need to be operational for another 30 years.
CAFES has suggested that in the meantime, the land could be used for ground mount solar, given its proximity to a transmission corridor. There are forward rolling energy procurements by the Independent Electricity Systems Operator (IESO) and usual project life-spans and power purchase contracts are for 20 years.
The bidding process for the Taggart-Miller site is operating under a non-disclosure agreement, so details such as the price and other bidders are not available to the public. However, councillors opened the floor to public delegations at the Finance and Corporate Services Committee meeting on November 21st. CAFES reached out to local leaders opposing 'the dump' in Carlsbad Springs and shared information. Then CAFES, network member Waste Watch Ottawa, and board member Pamela O'Donnell from Carlsbad Springs made presentations to the committee (here and here).
Recognizing that the alternative buyer would likely be a private company or other municipality bringing in waste from outside of Ottawa, we recommended that the City proceed with the bid. Unlike other parties, the City is accountable to Ottawa taxpayers, particularly those in nearby communities. Under public ownership, City management would be incentivized to pursue waste reduction initiatives to maximize the lifespan of the landfill. In contrast to private companies collect tipping fees based on volume of waste, which undermine waste reduction initiatives and imposes higher costs on taxpayers. In the long run, public ownership will result in lower solid waste management costs for Ottawa, and there will be no risk of costly legal battles with private waste companies.
Public ownership should also come with strings attached to mitigate harm to the local environment and residents of Carlsbad Springs. We presented the following recommendations to the City when determining the use of the Taggart-Miller land:
Our delegation to the City of Ottawa can be found below.
UPDATE: The Ontario government finalized these amendments on September 4, 2025.
CAFES is extremely concerned about the Ontario government's proposed amendments to the Blue Box recycling regulations. If passed, these amendments would be a step backwards in the transition to a circular economy.
The existing Blue Box Regulation, passed in 2021, aims to transition towards Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR): where producers cover the waste management costs of their products. Starting in 2026, the Ontario government is supposed to enforce recycling rate targets, such as 80% of paper and 50% of rigid plastic. Producers will also be responsible for collecting material from more multi-residential buildings, retirement homes, and schools. In 2030, these recycling targets should increase.
On June 4th, 2025, the Ontario government announced proposed amendments to the provincial Blue Box Regulation. These amendments involve delaying 2026 recovery targets, and removing planned expansion for collection in multi-residential homes, schools, retirement homes, and public spaces. Most alarmingly, the amendments would allow up to 15% of a producer’s recycling target to be met through incineration, which goes completely against circular economy principles, and the main purpose of EPR. The Canadian Recycling Standard, the most up-to-date and authoritative definition of recycling, explicitly excludes waste-to-energy incineration.
The stated rationale is that the existing requirements involve “unanticipated cost increases” for producers. However, the point of EPR is to transfer the burden of waste and pollution away from taxpayers to those who are responsible for creating the waste, thereby incentivizing smarter product and packaging design.
CAFES made a submission to the Environmental Registry of Ontario (ERO) outlining our specific concerns with the proposed amendments. We also discussed this issue at CAFES' last Waste and Circular Economy Caucus on July 9th, with a presentation by EnviroCentre's Valerie Leloup, who co-authored an op-ed criticizing this policy.
Read our full ERO submission below.
Until Monday, July 7th, 2025, Engage Ottawa is holding a public consultation survey on their Community Waste Reduction and Reuse Initiative - visit the webpage to complete the survey here.
This engagement opportunity comes in response to Ottawa City Council approving the Solid Waste Master Plan (SWMP) in June 2024. The SWMP provides a framework for how the City will sustainably manage waste over the next 30 years, with one of the key actions focusing on supporting and growing community programs that help to reduce and reuse waste.
These kinds of community waste programs build stronger communities, protect natural resources, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, save landfill space, help residents save money, and lower waste collection costs.
The survey is asking for input on:
The feedback gathered through the survey will assist the City in deciding which kind of programs to support, which new ideas to explore, and how the City can effectively build a stronger sharing economy in Ottawa.
For information, concerns, or if you require assistance, contact the City team at wasteplan@ottawa.ca
