On September l, 2000 the Ontario Waste Diversion Organization — an industry driven policy advisory group, submittedit s final reportto the Honourable Dan Newman, Ontario’s Minister of the Environment. The final report proposes to exchange 50% industry funding of municipal recycling costs for a “backdrop regulation.” Such regulation will effectively entrench industry’s view that municipalities should assume( share)t he bulk of the costs of recycling and landfill of packaging with industry – a view industry refers to as “shared producer responsibility.”
Not surprisingly, and consistent with the politics underlying the 15-year history of curbside collection in Ontario, the WDO’s “new” proposal will mean municipalities will end-up spending nearly double what they are currently paying for diversion in order to meet the WDO’s (read industry’s) suggested municipal waste diversion targets.
