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HST thread (pg. 6)
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| VERTiG0 |
| 3 gas stations I drove past on the way home from work today were closed due to having no gas. Hah. |
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| FunkyCrew |
| quote: | New eco fees catching consumers by surprise
July 07, 2010
Jesse McLean
A receipt shows the 13-cent eco fee paid on a bottle of dish detergent on July 7, 2010 at the Canadian Tire at Bay and Dundas.
Checking her receipt as she left a downtown Canadian Tire, Chris Colorado noticed a new charge.
Her $1.99 bottle of dish soap was accompanied by a 13-cent “eco fee.”
The levy for thousands of new products, from pharmaceuticals to fire extinguishers, quietly came into effect July 1, the same day as the harmonized sales tax.
But unlike that tax, provincial agencies have done little to publicize the new fees, catching consumers like Colorado by surprise.
“I’ve never heard anything about this fee. No one’s talking about it,” she said. “The fact they just put it without us knowing, I don’t think it’s honest. I don’t like it.”
Manufacturers must pay the province a levy for recycling their products. Some companies are passing these costs, ranging from a few cents to several dollars per product, onto consumers.
Stewardship Ontario, the agency overseeing the eco fees, began its $2.5 million public education campaign at the beginning of the month, which consists of posters and radio spots, as well as a group which tours public events and provides information about the program.
“We would rather spend the money to educate people than to spend the money months ahead to say, ‘Hey, there’s a new eco fee coming,’ ” said spokeswoman Amanda Harper Sevonty.
“Our message to consumers isn’t about the eco fees. Our message to consumers is about here are the materials and what to do with them.”
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What gets the fee:
All aerosol containers, from paint to hairspray.
Rechargeable batteries, as well as non-lead acid motive batteries.
Corrosives and irritants, such as household bleaches, drain cleaners and detergents.
Assorted toxic, flammable and reactive products.
Syringes and needles.
Pharmaceuticals for humans and pets, including prescription medicine, over-the-counter drugs and natural health products.
Fluorescent tubes and bulbs.
Fire extinguishers.
For a full list and details on where to dispose these items, visit makethedrop.ca
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By clicking the makethedrop.ca website and inserting their postal codes, residents can find which products they can recycle and where the closest collection site is located. There are 92 special disposal sites across the province.
Some retailers and consumers, however, say the silence has hurt the cause. If the consumers don’t know of the fees before they buy the item, they won’t know what to do with the waste.
When the first round of products was levied in 2008, Len McAuley was given a sign explaining the fees to customers at Pollock’s Home Hardware on Roncesvalles Ave.
“With this second phase, they haven’t sent us anything,” he said. “Basically, the list is getting longer. The government’s not communicating to the public.”
The fees now cover all aerosol containers from hairspray to whipped cream, pharmaceuticals, syringes, mercury-containing devices and other toxic, corrosive or flammable products.
The start date of the new levies was set when the program came into effect two years ago and by coincidence fell on the same day as the HST launch, Harper Sevonty said.
Progressive Conservative Environment Critic Toby Barrett criticized some of the fees as being a tax grab “under the guise of environmentalism,” noting particular concern with levies on fire extinguishers, which range from $2.22 to $6.66 depending on the weight.
“I feel the Ontario government has a bit of explaining to do. I think that would eliminate a lot of the frustration,” he said.
However, Harper Sevonty stressed that the fees aren’t a tax.
“They are the program cost to collect and manage this material out of the waste stream,” she said.
The companies that produce the goods are being charged a levy, which pays for the hazardous waste to be properly recycled instead of being dumped into landfills. It’s up to the manufacturers and retailers whether to download the charge onto customers, she said.
At Queen’s Park, Environment Minister John Gerretsen defended the recycling fees as “the right thing to do.”
He noted the stewardship councils were set up under enabling legislation that was passed by the previous Progressive Conservative government in 2002, so it’s odd that the Tories would be so critical.
“It’s not a tax. The government does not see one penny of it. It all goes to the stewardship councils to make sure that all of these materials do not end up in our landfill sites,” the minister said. |
I'm sorry but this is NUTS! |
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| Swamper |
| quote: | Originally posted by FunkyCrew
I'm sorry but this is NUTS! |
I agree. We keep getting hit with more fees/taxes...I would support it f I knew 100% that it was helping to divert those items from landfill but I think it'll just be more $$ wasted... ed up. |
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| FunkyCrew |
| quote: | Originally posted by Swamper
I agree. We keep getting hit with more fees/taxes...I would support it f I knew 100% that it was helping to divert those items from landfill but I think it'll just be more $$ wasted... ed up. |
it's helping noone lol
is this supposed to be some ed up incentive to recycle?! cos now that I have to physically pay a fee for these items, I'm sure as hell not bothing to recycle anymore. |
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| jon jon |
| quote: | Originally posted by FunkyCrew
I'm sorry but this is NUTS! |
agreed! I'd protest, but we're not allowed to do that anymore... |
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| hardcore trancer |
| Perhaps we can all have a peaceful protest and show our government that we are fed up? or is that too fanatical for the Canadian society these days?;) |
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| FunkyCrew |
| quote: | Originally posted by hardcore trancer
Perhaps we can all have a peaceful protest and show our government that we are fed up? or is that too fanatical for the Canadian society these days?;) |
as Chem already said - those things solve nothing and are a waste of time
I will be writing to my MP and MMP about this
any petittions going around? I'll gladly sign! |
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| hardcore trancer |
| quote: | Originally posted by FunkyCrew
as Chem already said - those things solve nothing and are a waste of time |
How do you know that? have you tried it?
| quote: | | I will be writing to my MP and MMP about this |
Good luck
:) |
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| Swamper |
| quote: | Originally posted by FunkyCrew
it's helping noone lol
is this supposed to be some ed up incentive to recycle?! cos now that I have to physically pay a fee for these items, I'm sure as hell not bothing to recycle anymore. |
You're not getting it. The fee goes towards Stewardship Ontario to cover the collection of listed items at various (new) depots around the city.
http://makethedrop.ca/content/what-orange-drop |
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| FunkyCrew |
but the fee was approved by the govn't, so shouldn't they hear about this?
| quote: | Originally posted by hardcore trancer
How do you know that? have you tried it? |
have you? |
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| jon jon |
| quote: | Originally posted by FunkyCrew
as Chem already said - those things solve nothing and are a waste of time |
in the future I should just consult "Chem" on how to make my life better...
| quote: | Originally posted by FunkyCrew
any petittions going around? I'll gladly sign! |
hah! |
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| hardcore trancer |
| quote: | Originally posted by FunkyCrew
but the fee was approved by the govn't, so shouldn't they hear about this?
have you? |
I sure have. And I can tell you the politicians do not like to see people protesting against their policies so they will have no choice but to take some action or at least acknowledge that there is a problem.
Lets look at the G20 protests for example, and the protest that took place about a week ago at Queens park, now I'm not suggesting that the protest got us what we wanted but a week later all levels of government are responding to our concerns and all party leaders are asking questions and the pressure on Harper is growing everyday to do some major explaining and to launch a public inquiry. |
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