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Are street sweepings waste?  The Environmental Review Tribunal (“ERT”) may soon decide.

Each year the City of Mississauga (“City”) has offered street cleaning services as part of its routine winter road maintenance.  From 2004-2011, the City accumulated “street sweepings” (the materials it collected during street cleaning) at a City Works Yard.  The City eventually deposited the street sweepings on several private properties throughout the City.  The City has not identified the municipal addresses for all of the private properties where the street sweepings were deposited.

The Ministry of Environment, Conservation and Parks considers street sweepings to be a waste under Ontario’s Environmental Protection Act (“EPA”) and O. Reg. 347. According to the Ministry, street sweepings commonly contain traces of glass, metal, and plastic, and may also include contaminants.

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