Zero Waste Simcoe asks ” Do you want waste with that?”

News release from Zero Waste Simcoe March 1 2011

Local grassroots organization Zero Waste Simcoe thinks that since Ontario taxpayers subsidize one-half of the costs of provincial recycling then maybe they should have some say in whether they wanted the waste in the first place.

 Zero Waste Simcoe Chair Gord McKay’s message is straightforward. ” We know that garbage is a by-product of modern industrial production. And we also see that our waste disposal system does little to discourage waste being generated in the first place. Recycling gets a lot of attention and money in Ontario but it is still well down on the waste hierarchy”.

Zero Waste Simcoe believes that in the run up to the next election our current waste reduction gains could be reversed and the public rendered more confused about what should be done with waste. The 2011 provincial election campaign will debate the existing waste system and practice in Ontario. Both the talk and the election resulting from this debate could affect the future of waste management in our province. 

Ontarians have little choice but to accept all manner of packaging and product waste when they make their purchases. In that regard, Zero Waste Simcoe asks “Who then owns the waste… the manufacturer who made it, the consumer who bought it or the taxpayer who is currently on the hook?” 

The answer to that question is uncertain- Zero Waste Simcoe hopes that our leaders will tell us what they intend to do.

The Ontario Blue Box Story

http://www.stewardshipontario.ca/consumers/what-we-do/blue-box