Ontario Orders Review of Textile Recycling

Summary#

• Bill 90 would push Ontario to decide how to handle clothing and other textiles under the province’s producer-responsibility recycling law.

• It orders the Environment Minister to start a review on adding textiles as a covered material, consult key groups, set out who would be responsible, and report to the Legislature on a tight schedule.

• Key points:

  • The Minister must begin a review within 3 months of the law taking effect.
  • The review must cover how to include textiles (like clothing, sheets, towels) as a material that companies are responsible for managing at end of life.
  • The Minister must consult clothing makers, importers, retailers, recyclers, municipalities, charities, and the Resource Productivity and Recovery Authority (the provincial recycling regulator).
  • Responsibility should, where practical, fall to: the brand owner in Canada; if none, the Canadian importer; if none, the Canadian retailer.
  • The Minister must report findings within 6 months of starting the review, give an update 3 months later, and then report every 2 months until textiles are officially designated.

What it means for you#

• General public

  • No immediate change to how you dispose of clothing or linens.
  • If textiles are later designated, you may see more drop‑off sites, store take‑back, or clearer recycling and reuse options.
  • Product prices could include the cost of collection and recycling, which companies might pass on.

• Shoppers and households

  • Possible new labels or guidance on how to donate, repair, or recycle textiles if designation happens.
  • Convenience could improve if stores or cities add textile collection.

• Clothing brands, importers, and retailers

  • You could become responsible for funding and organizing collection, reuse, repair, and recycling of textiles you sell in Ontario, if textiles are designated.
  • Expect consultation invitations during the review, and potential new reporting and compliance duties later.
  • The bill prioritizes responsibility in this order: Canadian brand owner, then Canadian importer, then Canadian retailer.

• Municipalities

  • No immediate new duties.
  • If textiles are designated, some costs of dealing with textile waste could shift from taxpayers to producers, and local collection systems may need coordination with producer programs.

• Charities, thrift stores, and recyclers

  • You will be consulted during the review.
  • If designation proceeds, you may see more partnerships, more volume, or new standards for sorting, reuse, and recycling.

Expenses#

No publicly available information.

Proponents' View#

• This sets a clear timeline and accountability so the province moves from talk to action on textile waste.
• Producer responsibility makes companies, not taxpayers, pay to manage the clothing and textiles they sell.
• Consulting industry, municipalities, and charities helps design a practical system that supports reuse, repair, and recycling.
• The responsibility chain (brand owner → importer → retailer) is a fair way to catch all products, including foreign brands.
• Regular reports keep pressure on the government to deliver and keep the public informed.

Opponents' View#

• The bill adds bureaucracy and deadlines but does not itself solve textile waste.
• If textiles are later designated, compliance costs could be passed on to consumers through higher prices.
• Small retailers and importers may face complex new duties and paperwork.
• New programs could overlap with or disrupt existing charity and thrift operations if not designed carefully.
• Frequent reporting may push toward a predetermined outcome rather than an open-ended review.