Editor,
I read with interest your story on the upcoming changes to our recycling system. It appears that the Ontario government has given up trying to figure out how to handle recycling and reduce over-packaging, and in a move which reeks of politics is shifting responsibility to producers.
This makes all levels of government look good superficially because municipalities will no longer have to figure recycling costs into their budgets and hence into their taxes. However, this does not make these costs magically disappear for at least two reasons. First, regulatory bodies will be needed to oversee the process, and along with it a whole new tier of government, and second, don’t think for one moment that producers will be willing to absorb these costs, no sir. They have shareholders to account to and those costs will be reflected in higher prices to the consumer at the cash register, so expect a whole new round of inflation as a result.
One more thing, up to now home owners have been paying a modest fee for bag tags to subsidize the cost of recycling. If big business takes over, will we find ourselves having to pay much more in some sort of direct cost to have our recyclables picked up? I’m just asking.
Personally, I hope I’m wrong, but I smell trouble brewing.
Editor’s Note: The municipal bag tag program helps to fund the curbside collection of household waste, not recyclables.
