WHEREAS waste diversion is a fundamental goal of waste management policy in Canada; AND WHEREAS extended producer responsibility: a shifts responsibility for managing the post-consumer stage of a product to the producer and away from municipalities; b provides incentives to producers to incorporate environmental considerations in the design of their products; and c shifts the public sector tax-supported responsibility for waste to the individual manufacturer: THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the Province of British Columbia be requested to look at the Ontario extended producer responsibility program and work with BC municipalities and regional districts to implement an expanded extended producer responsibility program to encompass a wider range of waste streams, including industrial and commercial packaging and residential blue box materials, and to shift the costs of waste diversion from municipal taxpayers and businesses onto the producers of the products.
Ministry of Environment BC is recognized as a North American leader in Extended Producer Responsibility EPR programs and regulates more product categories than any other jurisdiction. This legislation enhances waste diversion from BC landfills, by requiring the producers of materials and products to collect and recycle what they produced. The Ministry of Environment Service Plan commits to adding 2 new products every 3 years to BCs Recycling Regulation, as well as a commitment to the Canadian Council of Ministers of the Environment Canada Wide Action Plan Phases calling for all jurisdictions in Canada to regulate packaging under EPR by 2015. British Columbia is considering developing new programs for the remaining products from the Phase one of the Action Plan, such as adding packaging or expanding the programs for household hazardous waste and automotive products. Should packaging be added to the Recycling Regulation, producers of products with packaging would be required to take responsibility for the life-cycle management of their packaging.