TOXICS REDUCTION REGULATION NOW IN PLACE

The Toxics Reduction Act, 2009, is the cornerstone of Ontario’s Toxics Reduction Strategy. The goal of the Strategy is to help protect the health and environment of Ontarians by reducing toxic substances in air, land, water and consumer products while fostering the green economy. The act requires regulated facilities to track and quantify the toxic substances that they use and create, to develop plans to reduce the use and creation of these substances, and to make summaries of their plans available to the public. Much of the information collected through the reporting requirements of the act and regulations will be made available to the public so that Ontarians can be aware of toxic substances being used and created around them, as well as the actions facilities are taking to reduce them.

The Toxics Reduction Strategy is focused on:

• Managing and reducing the use and creation of toxic substances to improve the protection of the environment and human health.
• Informing Ontarians about toxics in their communities.
• Helping ensure that Ontario is well-positioned to compete in an increasingly green global economy.

The Strategy augments the traditional “end of pipe” approach to managing releases by focusing on reducing the use and creation of these substances at the front end of manufacturing processes.

Through the Toxics Reduction Act, 2009, Ontario is the leading province in Canada in toxics reduction legislation. The Toxics Reduction Strategy is also aimed at fostering new green jobs and transitioning the manufacturing and mineral processing sectors to better compete in a greening economy.