Minister's Speech

Remarks prepared for:

The Honourable John Gerretsen
Minister of the Environment

Electronics and Battery Recycling Conference ‘09
Westin Harbour Castle, Toronto

June 25, 2009, 9:30 A.M.

Thank you, Paul, for that kind introduction. (Minister to be introduced by Paul Healey — Manager of Recycling with Xstrata Copper)

I want to welcome everyone to the conference and extend an especially warm welcome to those of you who have come from outside the province or the country.

I would also like to extend greetings on behalf of Premier McGuinty and the Ontario government.

Since the Premier assigned me the job of Minister of the Environment for Ontario — almost two years ago — the proper management of wastes has been one of our key environmental priorities.

We have been taking action on a number of different fronts to increase diversion rates for a whole range of products and packaging.

This morning I’d like to give you an overview on what’s been happening in Ontario to protect our environment and build cleaner, healthier and more sustainable communities.

Recent programs: MHSW and e-waste

In January of this year, the Municipal Hazardous or Special Waste program was launched.  It’s making it more convenient for Ontarians to reduce, reuse and recycle responsibly and keep paints, solvents, batteries, oil filters, and antifreeze out of our landfills — or from going down the drain.  An expansion of the program is now under development.

In April, with the launch of a program to capture waste electronic and electrical equipment — we are making it easier and more convenient for people to reuse and recycle their old computers, printers and television sets. 

This will keep harmful toxic substances like mercury and lead from going to landfill — and recover materials for next generation products.

This program makes it easier for people to find and access drop-off locations including charities like Salvation Army, retailers, municipal depots and recyclers.
 
By year five of the program, we aim to have 650 drop-off locations across the province.

Right now, around 27 per cent of e-waste in Ontario is reused or recycled — that’s set to more than double to 61 per cent by year five.

One of the most important components of the program is that it will also manage electronic waste from businesses, not just residential consumers.

I am expecting Phase II of the program to be delivered to me this summer — adding materials such as cell phones and stereos.

This is a great example of extended producer responsibility in action as industry is fully responsible for this program, including paying 100 per cent of the program costs.

Without the leadership and commitment of Ontario Electronic Stewardship and its members, this program wouldn’t be possible.

There was a lot of discussion in making the transition to these new programs.

Obviously, change like this doesn’t come easily.  We have to change the culture of how we do things in our day-to-day lives.

But all around us, the world is changing, business practices are changing, the economy is changing.

To survive and to be successful means we have to adapt.

We also need to accept that it’s not always going to be perfect right out of the starting gate.  Sometimes there is a bit of “learning as we go”.

Conferences like this are so valuable because we get to hear from each other.

The fact is we need to really step up and deal with our wastes in a responsible manner.  We are focused on bringing forward programs that will protect our land, air and water and build a healthier, more sustainable way of life in this province.

Our programs here are as good, or better, than the most forward and progressive jurisdictions in North America, places like California, Oregon and Washington.

In fact, when Minnesota recently introduced Extended Producer Responsibility legislation they said they were modelling their approach on progressive jurisdictions such as Ontario.
 
EPR

It’s clear that Extended Producer Responsibility or EPR is the way the world is going.

You just have to look at what’s happening across Canada, in the U.S. and in Europe.

Both California and Oregon have recently introduced proposed EPR framework legislation, which would establish full EPR for designated products, from collection through processing.

At the last Canadian Council of Ministers of the Environment meeting in Whitehorse, the council agreed to consult on standards for reducing packaging — all based on the principle of extended producer responsibility.

As Chair of the CCME, I will be championing Extended Producer Responsibility throughout my term … and I’m eager to hear from industry about how best to move forward.

We have proposed a move to full EPR in Ontario and are currently undergoing a review of our province’s Waste Diversion Act to provide us with the tools and approaches we need to adapt to our changing realities.

While we have focussed on getting some of the most problematic materials out of our environment, it is clear we need to do more.

That is why the current review of the Waste Diversion Act is so critical.  We need to get the core architecture right and use this tool more effectively to get us where we want and need to be in Ontario.

Our waste framework in Ontario has to reflect new realities and new attitudes towards waste — with particular focus on the most important of the Three R’s —reducing waste.

Our government’s goal is, and always has been, to work with Ontario businesses and municipalities to create diversion programs that make sense for both the environment and for business.

We see this as an opportunity to create a clear framework for business to operate … we hear what business is saying.   We want to allow business to decide the most effective and innovative ways to meet their diversion requirements.  We also want to provide certainty so business can plan for the future.

Smart, progressive companies, no matter what size, are looking at ways they can reduce energy costs, reduce waste, reuse materials … and how all these actions can save them money and shrink their environmental footprint.

This is an important change in how business sees its corporate responsibility. 

Encouraging and supporting more of this kind of responsibility will help lead the necessary green transformation of our economy and support human health and well-being everywhere.

That also means ensuring environmental health and safety in setting processing standards for recyclers in our province and not exporting our problems to developing countries.

On the whole, developed industrialized nations need to manage resources better and that means looking at the wastes we generate in a new light.

We need to see waste as a resource, with invested value that can be recaptured at the end of the “first generation” product life — and used in other third or fourth generation ways.

Battery collection and recycling

One of the issues every jurisdiction is struggling with involves batteries. 

Canadians purchase approximately 550 million of them every year.

Batteries are a part of modern life. They aren’t going away any time soon.

From iPhones to hearing aids, so many of the products we purchase use batteries, in a wide variety of shapes, sizes, and packaging, but recycling them has been slow to get underway.

That is why Ontario’s Municipal Hazardous or Special Wastes program is the first in North America to include collection and recycling of single-use batteries.

In the European Union, all member states must recycle batteries and reach a collection rate of 25 per cent by 2012, and 45 per cent by 2016.

Two of Europe’s leaders in battery collection, Belgium and Holland, have had programs in place for 10 or more years and have collection rates of around 56 per cent and 37 per cent respectively. These are great rates but we can still do better.

What is the role of the producers of those hundreds or millions of batteries that don’t get collected?

I do recognize, as with all our environmental challenges — we need a starting point.  But, we also need an aggressive end point to focus our sights on.

I know the battery industry is keen to develop their own industry-run program in Ontario, and we want to encourage more of this kind of initiative.  But why could we — or any other jurisdiction for that matter — not achieve Belgium’s 56 per cent collection rate in three years and create new green jobs at the same time?

This is the kind of bold thinking we need.

What is interesting to me and definitely worthy of some debate is that we still approach the issue of waste diversion from the back-end.  We are trying to figure out collection and processing systems to manage products and packaging that were introduced with little consideration of recycling or recyclability.

That’s like trying to prevent the spread of disease by treating its symptoms.

By starting at the beginning, with the design of products — factoring in the reuse of components and materials — considering the end-use in the early steps of the process, we can develop a better picture of how these many products and their packaging can be re-thought and improved.

Working from the front-end instead of the back transforms waste from being a problem that needs to be dealt with after the fact, to becoming an integral part of planning and design.

It’s how we can achieve a virtuous cycle — where nothing is wasted.

Manufacturers need to play a big part in changing mindsets.

Designing for the front-end instead of dealing with pollution at the back-end of the process is informing many of our environmental initiatives in Ontario.

For example, the Ontario legislature recently passed the Toxics Reduction Act, which augments the traditional “end of pipe” approach to managing chemical releases by placing a new focus on reducing the use of these substances at the front end of industrial processes.

We are also getting a clear picture on how robust waste diversion programs can help us deal with one of our most pressing environmental challenges — global climate change.

A recent study on Ontario’s diversion and recycling programs shows significant reductions in greenhouse gas emissions and other toxics, in addition to economic benefits.  

Government plays a key role in setting policy.  But, there’s another important role for government that has been somewhat overlooked.

Government represents the single biggest component of our provincial economy and is the single largest purchaser.

By implementing green procurement policies we can leverage that strong buying power and foster change all along the supply chain.

And by reviewing government procurement policies to focus on green procurement standards we also show leadership to others involved in procuring goods and services.

A new focus on sustainability in business will help hone a competitive edge in the green economy and at the same time improve our environment.

Where we’re heading — the new green economy

We all know that these are tough times.  No question.

What is different about this economic downturn is the environment remains a key priority for the public.

This is not the time to retreat from our green agenda but to prepare for the next upturn in the economy and be sure we take the right steps to be well-positioned when that happens.

In fact, in many ways people are moving faster than most governments and business in embracing the green economy.

Ontarians are looking for business to step up and offer products and services that take concern for the environment into consideration.

The fact is we all need to understand the larger context — how all the small steps add up to being part of the bigger picture … where sustainable communities are linked to healthy people … a strong and successful province and a healthy planet.

Innovation and leadership

There is a clear competitive advantage to effectively minimizing waste and, as importantly — capitalizing on the waste you produce.

Progressive and forward-thinking businesses are pursuing ways they can reduce costs, save energy and reduce their use of raw materials by paying attention to or even exceeding waste reduction requirements.

We can build an economy around the resources we have been throwing away.

But it will take innovation.

It will mean integrating waste considerations into business decisions. And it will take leadership.

There is no turning back.  We must move forward.  And we have the momentum to do so and go even further.

By building on the momentum that’s being created in the green economy … by working together … I know we can help build a cleaner, healthier and stronger world for our children and grandchildren.

Thank you, and enjoy the rest of the conference.

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