TORONTO - Ontario's governing Liberals are stepping in to change a controversial pricing plan by Stewardship Ontario for hazardous waste recycling and review the embattled private organization's finances.
The government announced a new regulation Thursday to ensure producers pay a lump sum for the actual cost of waste disposal, rather than a projected per-unit cost estimated by Stewardship Ontario.
"Right now, those costs are predictions or projections as to what they might be, and that is not always as accurate as they would like," Environment Minister Jim Bradley told The Canadian Press.
"So you end up in some cases where too much money might be collected in one category or too little in another category. You end up with either a surplus or a deficit."
The change will also stop "cross-subsidization," where one group is effectively paying another group's recycling costs, he said.
Other stewardship organizations will be directed to develop similar pricing systems, which will be more fair and transparent, Bradley said.
Waste Diversion Ontario, an independent organization that oversees recycling programs, has also been asked to do a "detailed" examination of Stewardship Ontario's budget and expenditures and advise Bradley on whether any changes need to be made.
"I want them to review the development and implementation of the financial incentives that are paid to the service providers by stewardship organizations," he said.
Bradley said he was worried about the rates because Ontario isn't seeing enough waste diverted from its landfills — something the province's environmental commissioner pointed out in his last report.
"I want to get over this situation where there are constant disputes taking place between the players, saying, 'Well, you projected this cost, but it really wasn't that cost, and therefore you've created a surplus,'" he said.
"Or somebody else saying, 'Gee, you told us this was your projected cost, now you're coming back to us and saying it's going to cost us more money.' So we want some surety there."
Stewardship Ontario — a private, industry-funded organization — came under fire in 2010 when, with little warning, eco fees were slapped on thousands of new household items, such as fire extinguishers and laundry detergent.
The government was forced to drop the fees amid outrage from both consumers and businesses.
The new regulation appears to be another attempt to alleviate concerns about Stewardship Ontario and the fees that are being collected to pay for hazardous waste recycling.
"We've been hearing complaints from people that they're not satisfied with the way they're being assessed," Bradley said.
There were reports the system had prompted some hazardous-waste transporters to pull their services, sending municipalities scrambling to find replacements.
"Certainly there were a number of municipalities that were considering abandoning the program," said Peter Hargreave of the Ontario Waste Management Association, which represents service providers and municipalities.
Consequently, either those municipalities would stop offering the recycling of hazardous waste or pass on the recycling costs to property taxpayers, he said.
Progressive Conservative critic Michael Harris said municipalities are being forced to accept less money from Stewardship Ontario providers, than what they could get for their paint, batteries and other hazardous materials from the private sector.
"We feel that municipalities should have the ability to make some of these relationships directly with these private-sector providers," Harris said.
The Tories claim the change will only add more red tape to the province's recycling efforts.
But Hargreave calls it an "aggressive first step" to deal with the problems created by a flawed piece of legislation that governs recycling in the province.
"The problem with the whole Waste Diversion Act is it gives a monopoly control to an organization that has very little oversight," he said.
"The government needs to provide proper oversight over these organizations and need to ensure there's a free marketplace."
Bradley has also set his sights on changing Waste Diversion Ontario which, like Stewardship Ontario, is also industry-led and financed by producers.
The organization needs to change its board of directors to one that's composed "not of individuals with special interests, but rather those with special skills" — that is, those who are knowledgeable in the field of recycling, he said.
"We think by changing the composition of the board as well, we'll get back to fundamentally what we want and that is waste diversion taking place at a much greater rate than the unsatisfactory level it is at the present time," he said.
While the minister has no direct authority over Waste Diversion Ontario, he can request programs and provide policy direction and program approval.
