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New Waste Diversion Act for Ontario |
| Posted by Administrator (admin) on Jan 17 2009 at 5:33 PM |
The Province is asking Ontarian's to comment on their proposed new Waste Diversion Act with a focus on Zero Waste and Extended Producer Responsibility. The Ministry advises "Ontario will not achieve zero waste overnight. But, the time to start moving in that direction is now. In order to move from “cradle-to-grave” to “cradle-to-cradle”, governments, businesses, and citizens will need to rethink the way resources are used and will require tools that drive innovation, technological development, and shift societal behaviour.This review of the Act provides an opportunity to present the vision of zero waste as a goal, anddiscuss how we can make concrete steps in that direction today and take advantages of theopportunities that a zero waste vision presents. The Ministry proposes that the first steps in striving for zero waste should be built upon four key building blocks: 1. A clear framework built upon the foundation of Extended Producer Responsibility. 2. A greater focus on the first and second of the 3Rs – waste reduction, and reuse. 3. Increasing reduction and diversion of waste from the industrial, commercial & institutional sectors. 4. Greater clarity around roles, responsibilities, and accountabilities, to ensure that all players are contributing to a common goal. While the Act is not the only tool available to help us move toward a zero waste vision, in manyways it is one of the most important. It is the potential changes to the Act to help drive towardthis new vision that is the focus of this discussion. The review of the Act provides an opportunity to model our approach on leading jurisdictions and put forward zero waste as a long-term vision for the province." Help Us Make it Happen The deadline for comments has been extended to April 30, 2009.