The Ontario Government has written a new regulation for disposing of and recycling hazardous waste such as paints, pesticides, solvents, oil filters, antifreeze and pressurized containers. Under this regulation, responsibility for managing hazardous materials will shift from municipalities and consumers to producers. You can read and comment on this draft regulation here.
So what will producers have to do?
- Establish free hazardous material collection networks for consumers
- Manage all collected materials properly, including meeting procedures for recycling or disposal
- Provide promotional and education materials to educate consumers about how the new system works
- Register, report, provide audited/verified sales data, keep records and meet other requirements
- Be transparent about any charges passed onto consumers
This regulation will hopefully encourage producers to:
- Work harder to reduce use of hazardous materials
- Invest in new, more efficient, and more innovative ways to dispose of and recycle hazardous materials
The Province’s Made-in-Ontario Environment Plan calls for shifts in waste management to ensure:
- Producers are responsible for waste generated from their products and packaging.
- Waste is seen as a resource that can be recovered, reused and put back into the economy.
We at Clean North encourage all citizens to review and comment on the draft regulation. Holding producers accountable for hazardous materials should help reduce the risk of these materials ending up in the landfill and leaching toxic chemicals and heavy metals into our air, ground, and water.
