Originally published Nov 2/16 The Reminder. Flin Flon, Mb. Sponsored by North of 53 Consumers Coop.
Who is responsible to take care of all the garbage we create?
Cities and towns are responsible for managing waste. That was much easier and cheaper when everything was garbage and just went into the landfill.
Landfills are no longer the best way. They take up lots of space, are expensive, and can harm the environment. There are better ways to deal with most of our garbage like recycling.
So who pays for that? Municipalities already spend lots of money on waste management. They can’t do it all.
The Province of Manitoba has made laws which require industries that sell stuff that is recyclable to help pay for it.
For every specified product a company sells in Manitoba, it must pay a set amount into a fund that helps municipalities with the ‘end of life’ costs. These products include tires, oil products, beverage containers, household food items with recyclable packaging, newspapers, electronics, fluorescent bulbs, and lots of other things. This extra cost often shows up on your bill as an enviro fee.
And where does that money go?
To the PRO’s – Producer Responsibility Organizations which are non-profit organizations run by industry. They are required by the government to pay municipalities and organizations like the Recycling Centre to cover recycling costs.
Some PRO names are like alphabet soup: MMSM, CBCRA, EPRA, MARRC. Some have obvious names like Mb Tire Stewardship, and Product Care.
Last year the PRO’s paid the Recycling Centre more than $65,000.00 for household, tire and ewaste recycling.
The money doesn’t come from the taxes. Industries help pay for recycling the waste they create.
The PRO’s make recycling happen in Manitoba.
Who is responsible to take care of all the garbage we create?
Cities and towns are responsible for managing waste. That was much easier and cheaper when everything was garbage and just went into the landfill.
Landfills are no longer the best way. They take up lots of space, are expensive, and can harm the environment. There are better ways to deal with most of our garbage like recycling.
So who pays for that? Municipalities already spend lots of money on waste management. They can’t do it all.
The Province of Manitoba has made laws which require industries that sell stuff that is recyclable to help pay for it.
For every specified product a company sells in Manitoba, it must pay a set amount into a fund that helps municipalities with the ‘end of life’ costs. These products include tires, oil products, beverage containers, household food items with recyclable packaging, newspapers, electronics, fluorescent bulbs, and lots of other things. This extra cost often shows up on your bill as an enviro fee.
And where does that money go?
To the PRO’s – Producer Responsibility Organizations which are non-profit organizations run by industry. They are required by the government to pay municipalities and organizations like the Recycling Centre to cover recycling costs.
Some PRO names are like alphabet soup: MMSM, CBCRA, EPRA, MARRC. Some have obvious names like Mb Tire Stewardship, and Product Care.
Last year the PRO’s paid the Recycling Centre more than $65,000.00 for household, tire and ewaste recycling.
The money doesn’t come from the taxes. Industries help pay for recycling the waste they create.
The PRO’s make recycling happen in Manitoba.
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