What People are Saying about Waste Diversion

TORONTO, July 27 /CNW/ - Experts agree that diverting household hazardous waste is an important step towards removing toxic chemicals from landfills:

• "The 'eco-fee' is not a tax. Money collected through 'eco fees' is retained by retailers; none of the proceeds go to government." (Gord Miller, Environmental Commissioner of Ontario, July 27^th 2010)
• "So, no new tax; no money flowing back to government to spend; no vast new bureaucracy springing up to burden the taxpayer and really, a pretty smart program that is the first of its kind in Canada." (Globe and Mail, July 10^th 2010)
• "Ontario government…is definitely on the right track. Once we get over the hiccup of eco fee, restructure it slightly, I think we're onto a system where the payment for keeping these things, and doing environmental harm will fall…to the manufacturer." (Pierre Sadik, David Suzuki Foundation, July 26^th 2010)
• "There is no profit, and the money goes nowhere near government coffers. But for crass political gain Hudak insists on misrepresenting it as a "tax grab."… There are now two options facing the province: we can scrap the eco fees, or we can fix the program. Hudak wants the former; Ontarians would be better served by the latter." (Toronto Star, July 15^th 2010)
• "...the misleading use of terms such as "eco tax" and "eco fee" by some retailers, resulted in public confusion and an outcry from critics. Not 1 cent of these disposal fees goes to government coffers." (Peter Hume, President, Association of Municipalities of Ontario, July 19^th 2010)
• "Mr. Hudak in particular, needs to pay attention to the Environmental Commissioner.  He needs to stop misrepresenting what eco fees are and who is responsible for them.  If he doesn't, he will undermine the system of producer responsibility and cost taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars." (Franz Hartmann, Toronto Environmental Alliance, July 27^th 2010)

Tim Hudak and the Conservatives are alone in opposing waste diversion - content to toss toxic chemicals into landfills, threaten soil and groundwater contamination, and leave future generations with the cleanup bill.

For further information:

Andrew Teliszewsky
[email protected] 
416-325-3670