Ontario’s eco-fees canceled

Ontario announced today that the unpopular eco-fees that were sprung onto an unsuspecting public last July 1st have been canceled.

An email from a Ministry of the Environment spokesman received at The Daily Bayonet today (emphasis mine):

I recently noticed your blog and thought I would say hi and provide some additional information about our simplified municipal hazardous waste program. This simplified program removes the confusion surrounding the eco-fees rolled out on July 1. Those fees are gone permanently. They will not be coming back.

We are partnering with municipalities to divert fire extinguishers, rechargeable batteries, pharmaceuticals and sharps, CFL light bulbs, and products containing mercury. Consumers can now take them back to their municipal depot or their local Environmental Days easily and free of charge.

This is the best way to ensure we divert more products from our landfills in a way that’s transparent and easy for consumers.

The Ministry web page has a formal statement from Environment Minister John Wilkinson:

“On July 1st, a new program run by Stewardship Ontario took effect to divert household hazardous waste from landfills. Ontarians quickly recognized that the program that started July 1 was flawed because it applied to some products that made little sense to consumers — and forced consumers to pay fees, in some cases inconsistently, on some routine household purchases.

The Ontario government has listened to the concerns of families. The government is permanently ending the household waste program that took effect on July 1. The end of the program means the end of any consumer fees being charged to pay for that particular program.

Programs that existed prior to July 1, 2010, which currently divert, recycle and dispose of electronics, tires and household hazardous wastes such as paint and single-use batteries, will continue. To help ensure these programs are fair and transparent, and that money is used solely to keep hazardous waste out of landfills, the province will:

• Establish a special team that will investigate incorrect or misleading fees being charged by retailers to Ontarians
• Request that consumer representation sit on the independent boards that deliver waste diversion programs
• Improve oversight by including provisions for both increased reporting and third-party audits.

Ontario will continue to make progress in diverting hazardous waste from landfills to protect our water and land for future generations. The province will begin to provide funding to municipalities to properly manage, recycle and dispose of fire extinguishers, rechargeable batteries, compact fluorescent light bulbs, needles, mercury-containing devices and pharmaceuticals.

These changes will ensure that Ontario strikes the right balance between consumer protection and effectively managing waste that is harmful and hazardous to our families.”

The province has folded on the thousands of items that the eco-fees covered, instead focusing on the proper disposal of ‘hazardous waste’ in an effort to keep harmful materials from the landfills. It’s better policy, better communication and a win for Ontarians that are, to use a popular expression from our friends south of the border, Taxed Enough Already.

There’s even a video. I’m not sure how my neighbors would interpret me dropping off a used bottle of bleach, but at least they’re giving the communication all the effort:

..

The list of hazardous materials to be diverted from landfills is short:

Paints and coatings, plus their containers

Solvents and their containers

Used oil filters

Empty lubricating oil containers

Single-use batteries

Antifreeze and its containers

Pressurized containers (e.g., propane tanks and cylinders, oxygen and helium tanks)

Lawn fertilizers that contain pesticides

Pesticides and their containers

Fire extinguishers*

Rechargeable batteries*

Compact fluorescent light bulbs*

Sharps (needles, lancets, pens and syringes)*

Mercury-containing devices (e.g, thermometers, thermostats)*

Pharmaceuticals (prescription and over-the-counter medications for humans and pets)*

* The province will begin to provide funding to municipalities to properly manage, recycle and dispose of these items.

If you don’t know why I highlighted CFL’s, it’s because the disposal of these mercury laden, health problem causing eco-disasters is a governmental own-goal that was sired in Ontario and adopted by the Feds in a greenwashing exercise.

Eco-fees are dead, which is what sensible people wanted, but we’ll keep an eye on this disposal business - any hint of a new fee, tax, levy or charge will re-ignite the issue. Promise.

Previous Eco-fee posts:

Eco Fees in Ontario

Eco-Fees 2: Stewardship Ontario

Ontario’s eco-fees: an update