420 Ontario Municipal E-Waste Depots Will Cost Too Much

Aug. 3, 2008 - PRLog -- The newly approved Ontario Electronic Stewardship (OES) plan  which is supposed to be 100% funded by the electronics industry may cost municipalities  more than expected.  Waste Electronic and  Electrical Equipment (WEEE) is the fastest growing solid waste stream in  Ontario and worldwide. The plan calls for the creation of 420 collection depots  across the province with the attractive lure of compensation.  
Towns and cities beware.
The plan offers municipalities and OES approved collection  depots $165 per ton of certain types of electronics collected, provided that the  equipment is sorted and packaged according to the requirements of the OES.  The program will initially cover TVs,  Computer Monitors, Desktop & Laptop Computers, Computer Accessories and  Printers.  OES will also pay for transportation  and recycling of specified equipment.   Other items such as fridges, stoves, washers and dryers are not covered.  Cell phones, stereos, iPods and cameras aren’t on the list yet either.
According to projections provided in the plan document, each  person in Ontario is expected to generate 7.60 kilograms (nearly 15 pounds) of “subject”  e-waste for collection beginning in April, 2009.  This means that the OES will pay about $0.75 for  every person who recycles.  
 Based on the target of 60% diversion, a town with a  population of 1,000 people would be compensated $752.40 for collecting,  sorting, and packaging 7.6 tons of e-waste. Small cities such as Huntsville with  a population of 22,000 would earn $16,500.   In fact, the entire District of Muskoka with a population of 57,000  people would collect $62,000 for managing their WEEE.
The City of Barrie with a population of 130,000 is expected  to generate 988 tonnes of TVs, Monitors and computers and peripherals in the  first year of the program.  At 60%  diversion the City would earn $97,000.   Two full time staff earning $40,000 per year plus benefits would quickly  turn such profits into a drain on the local economy.
Under OES funding, dedicated collection depots may not be  appropriate for most municipalities in Ontario.   Collection events, executed a few times per year at a much lower expense  would be a better option for most Ontario communities.  Before deciding to set up depots to divert e-waste,  municipalities should consider using a social enterprise such as Thriftopia.com  to organize and execute special collection events instead.

# # #

Thriftopia.com Ltd. is a family owned social enterprise operated by people living with disabilities based in Barrie, Ontario providing computer reuse, recycling and related services to the public and companies large and small. Our mission is to improve tomorrow by keeping people and resources working.
Media contact Patrick Hebert Jr. for more information by calling 705-828-7162 or email recycle@thriftopia.com