WHEREAS small appliances are one of the fastest growing materials in our solid waste stream, with a 279 increase in GVRD per capita disposal of these items between 1998 and 2001; AND WHEREAS these items are disproportionately high in toxicity, containing such toxins as lead, hexavalent chromium, tin, copper, mercury, polyvinyl chloride PVC plastics and brominated flame retardants: THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the Union of BC Municipalities write to Electronics Product Stewardship Canada and the provincial and federal governments to express its concern over the increasing amount of electronic solid waste and the fast obsolescence of these products, the inability to economically repair or upgrade older products, the high toxicity of electronics and the manufacturers responsibility for disposal of its own toxic products and request immediate implementation of a national industry-funded stewardship program for electronics; AND BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Union of BC Municipalities urge the Province of British Columbia to pass legislation requiring that industry participate in an e-waste recycling program.
MINISTRY OF WATER, LAND AND AIR PROTECTION The Ministry of Water, Land and Air Protection will continue to work with the electronics industry and municipalities on e-waste solutions.
ENVIRONMENT CANADA Environment Canada is working closely with Industry Canada, Natural Resources Canada, the provinces and territories, environmental non-governmental organizations and the electronics industry sector to encourage and facilitate the development of industry product stewardship programs to recover and properly manage small-appliance and electronic waste across the country. In support of this initiative, Environment Canada has prepared a number of reports to estimate the quantity of electronic products disposed of each year in Canada. They provide information on the types of toxic and hazardous substances found in electronics, and assess the environmental and occupational health and safety risks associated with electronic processing operations. Environment Canada chairs the Canadian Council of Ministers of the Environment CCME Electronic Product Stewardship Task Group EPS TG and the National Steering Committee on Electronic Recycling NSCER, to help encourage and facilitate the delivery of consistent provincial and territorial programs. The object of the CCME EPS TG is to establish overarching national policy guidance for the provinces and territories regarding the management of end-of-life electronic products, while the NSCER conducts work that is more technically oriented. For example, under the auspices of the CCME, National Principles for Electronics Product Stewardship have been established, and work is under way to identify and prioritize electronics waste for industry product stewardship and to establish best environmentalmanagement practices for electronics waste processing. Environment Canada is also working with federal environment agencies in the U.S. and Mexico, through the North American Commission for Environmental Cooperation, to issue a North American-wide voluntary clean electronic products challenge. The intent of this challenge is to encourage industry to minimize the amount of hazardous content found in their electronic equipment.
FCM RESPONSE At its 2005 Annual Convention, the FCM adopted this resolution as a category A resolution, meaning that it is considered to be a national municipal issue of direct concern to Canadian municipalities.