Ontario scraps controversial eco fees
Posted July 20, 2010 11:28 am.
This article is more than 5 years old.
TORONTO, Ont. – The Ontario government has repealed its eco fee nearly three weeks after the controversial levy was slapped on thousands of new household products.
Environment Minister John Gerretsen said he’s scrapping the fee, but the waste diversion program that it funded will continue.
The government signalled its reversal shortly after Canadian Tire announced it would stop charging the fee because the program was too confusing.
The retailing giant said the program suffered from a botched rollout and was poorly handled by everyone involved, including the government.
The Liberals gave an industry-led organization, Stewardship Ontario, the power to collect the fees to fund a recycling program that diverts potentially hazardous items from landfills.
But there was no public warning that the eco fee, which was first introduced in 2008, would be slapped on thousands of new items July 1, such as fire extinguishers and household cleaners.
