MMSW Advance Notice: Cost Recovery Invoice to be Issued January 30

Dear MMSW steward,

As you know, the MMSW program which was scheduled to launch January 1, 2015, was postponed in light of the Saskatchewan government's surprise announcement in late December of new exemptions to the MMSW program and a $500 flat fee for mid-sized businesses and all newspaper publishers (read more here).  MMSW is actively working with the Saskatchewan government to resolve the issues that have arisen due to this announcement.  

In the meantime, in light of the current uncertainty surrounding the program launch date, MMSW must take immediate steps to recover the costs that we have incurred since February 15, 2013, when the Household Packaging and Paper Stewardship Program Regulations came into effect and MMSW initiated its work that brought us within days of launching the program.   MMSW will therefore be issuing a Cost Recovery Invoice on Friday, January 30, to each of its members to recoup these costs since these monies were advanced in the form of a bank loan that must now be repaid. These costs include: program plan development, meetings with provincial and municipal governments, steward recruitment activities, execution of contracts with municipalities, execution of membership agreements with stewards, support for steward reporting, and the establishment of a fee schedule, among others.  We will also need to maintain a cash flow that allows the office and staff to remain available for ongoing discussions with the provincial and municipal Governments.

The purpose of the invoice that you will receive on Friday is to recover our costs and is based on a percentage of the annual cost for 2015 that you were assessed.  The remaining costs for 2015 - those dedicated to providing funding to municipalities - will be recovered through subsequent invoices once a program launch date is confirmed. 

MMSW met with Ministry of Environment staff on Wednesday January 21 and while this meeting was a good first step, more discussion is required to resolve issues and further meetings are currently being scheduled.  We will keep MMSW members apprised as we have more details.

MMSW has developed a Q&A to answer some of the questions you may have. Click here to read the Q&A.

If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to contact Steward Services at: [email protected] or 1-888-980-9549

Best regards,

Your MMSW team