WHEREAS the removal of hazardous materials and refrigerants remains the responsibility of the recycler and processor; AND WHEREAS the British Columbia Major Appliance Stewardship program does not meet the standards of Extended Producer Responsibility: THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that UBCM request that the British Columbia Minister of Environment require that all refrigerants contained within major appliances become the responsibility of the manufacturer of that product for the entire life-cycle of these materials.
Ministry of Environment Through the Recycling Regulation, the Province mandates and supports the practice of Extended Producer Responsibility EPR. British Columbias Industry-led Product Stewardship programs require producers of designated products, including refrigerant-containing major appliances, to take responsibility for the life cycle management of their products, including collection and recycling. For transparency and accountability, all programs must report on the management of the products in adherence with the order of preference in the pollution prevention hierarchy. The Major Appliance Recycling Roundtable MARR Stewardship Plan and program operates around the long-standing market-driven EPR system for major household appliances. The MARR plan is focused on enhancing the performance and transparency of this existing market-based system. The Ministry of Environment is aware of the current challenges associated with the MARR program and is working with MARR to address them. In addressing their program challenges, MARRs actions to date have included: contracting a consultant to perform a system study; forming the MARR-Local Government Advisory Council MARR-LGAC and developing the Major Appliance Processing Standard. The Ministry of Environment will continue to monitor MARRs progress.