CBRM to consider asking province for recycling funds

The high cost of garbage and recycling are on the agenda for Tuesday's regular meeting of the Cape Breton Regional Municipality.

Coun. Amanda McDougall plans to ask council to pass a resolution urging the Nova Scotia government to enact legislation on extended producer responsibility, also known as EPR.

Extendedproducer responsibilityis the idea of having manufacturers pay a fee to municipalities and recyclers that handle the companies' packaging waste.

"We need EPR specifically for that printed packaging," McDougall said. "It includes the clamshells that your strawberries come in, it can be plastic bags,it can be various types of printed papers as well."

Municipalities, businesses consulted

Nova Scotia is considering extended producer responsibility legislation, McDougall said, but the province is waiting to find out what municipalities and small businesses want.

Municipal solid waste chairs and the Nova Scotia Federation of Municipalities, formerly the Union of Nova Scotia Municipalities, are working with those groups on a report for this fall.

"We are open to working with municipalities, industry and others to reduce the use of plastics bags and other plastic film," he said. "We've had several good discussions with our municipal colleagues as well as industry over the past several months, and our work is ongoing.

"We are committed to finding a more permanent solution, and all options are on the table at this point. Staff are doing research, and that work will consider opportunities as well as implications. No decisions have been made at this point."

McDougall, who also sits on the provincial solid waste resource management committee, said many manufacturers already pay a waste handling fee, but Nova Scotia needs extended producer responsibility legislation so municipalities can access those funds and cut their waste handling costs.

The money could also spur new business.

"This is an option going forward that I'm hoping will lead to more creative ways of dealing with this type of waste," McDougall said. "It could actually inspire new industry, perhaps, on Cape Breton Island or in the province, that would start looking at different ways of dealing with this type of waste."

No change for consumers

McDougall said consumers likely wouldn't see any change, even if extended producer responsibility becomes law.

"You're not going to see anything happen necessarily, you know, at the end of your driveway any time soon," she said.