Government seeking feedback on waste diversion
The Yukon government will implement Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) in the territory,
The Yukon government will implement Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) in the territory, which will make companies and producers responsible for the recycling or disposal of their products and packaging.
“EPR will help make recycling more financially sustainable, keep more waste out of landfills, and help the Yukon reach the waste diversion and greenhouse gas reduction targets under Our Clean Future,” the government said today.
All 10 provinces have EPR programs in place. The Yukon will be the first territory to introduce ome.
Developing consistent extended producer responsibility policies and programs for plastics is a priority identified in the Canada-wide Action Plan on Zero Plastic Waste, which is being implemented by the Canadian Council of Ministers of the Environment.
Public engagement on EPR began today.
Yukoners and stakeholders are encouraged to fill out the online survey, which will be open until Jan. 27, 2023.
The first opportunity for Yukoners to provide feedback in-person will take place at the Recycling Summit open house tonight from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. at the Kwanlin Dün Cultural Centre.
“We are working to reduce waste and support a greener, modernized approach to waste management in the Yukon,” Environment Minister Nils Clarke said in a statement.
“By implementing an Extended Producer Responsibility program, we are shifting the responsibility of product and packaging waste from consumers to producers.
“I encourage all Yukoners to submit their feedback on how we can better divert unnecessary waste in the territory and fulfill our commitment in Our Clean Future to implement a system for Extended Producer Responsibility by 2025.”
The government and the City of Whitehorse are co-hosting the Recycling Summit until Thursday.
Our Clean Future commits the government to “design and implement a system for Extended Producer Responsibility by 2025 that will make producers responsible for managing materials through the lifecycle of a product.”
EPR was also a recommendation from the Ministerial Committee on Solid Waste.
The nation’s Environment ministers met for their 2022 annual meeting in Whitehorse on Aug. 31.
The public engagement on EPR in the Yukon marks the 100th major, territory-wide public engagement undertaken by the government since 2017.
Comments (24)
Up 4 Down 4
Look, their laughing at you, like you are a child in one of those Elementary school glass cages… on Nov 6, 2022 at 8:04 pm
Yes John on Nov 5, 2022 at 12:56 pm…
But we want to know how inflation happens? The government does not seem to have a clue. They just keep making everything more expensive with taxes, fees, levies etcetera. Anything you can do to help us understand why everything is so expensive would be appreciated.
I used to think that it was climate change that was causing inflation. But I don’t think that is quite right? It seemed as if the government’s response to climate change through increased taxes, fees, and levies were the driving force behind inflation.
But they said they don’t know why inflation is happening?
I wonder if this will have an impact on inflation:
“Climate reparations, also known as loss and damage, refer to the financial payments that developing nations from the Global South demand from the industrialised Global North in order to compensate the irreversible havoc wreaked by the climate crisis.”
“Low-income countries argue they are disproportionally affected by extreme weather phenomena, such as devastating floods and longer-than-usual droughts, even though their release of greenhouse gas emissions has been negligible compared to that of the North.”
Hopefully those reparations are extracted from countries in accordance with their relative contributions to their carbon footprint. Good luck with China… The number one climate change contributor!
But wait a minute! There is no evidence to indicate that climate change is anthropogenically caused. Even if anthropogenic activities were a contributory factor to what degree is it contributory? For example, if Canada is estimated to be about 1.5 % responsible for GHG but anthropogenic activity accounts for only 10% of the climate change itself then Canada should only be responsible for committing to .15 % of the reparations.
Then of course negligence on the part of 3rd world countries should be assessed to adjust the responsibilities accordingly. For example, all the plastics, toxic waste, and other crap that is pumped into the oceans should be calculated and the reparations should be adjusted accordingly.
There should also be consideration given to overpopulated countries and their impact on climate change calculated accordingly. People are carbon so it stands to reason that the more people a country has, the larger is their combined footprint. People consume resources. Under such a structure Canada would be considered net-negative.
Shut up already with the friggin net zero stuff!
But anyway, anything you got on that inflation shyt sure would be a help, they don’t seem to know why.
Maybe it has something to do with redistributive, social Justice or something like that? Maybe the climate change narrative is the advanced catalyst for inflation, sorry I meant fascism, maybe communism, but it could be socialism… Hmmm…
While you’re at it can you find out who stayed in a $6000 per night hotel room… And how much the orange juice costs there… Cause Bev might be singing you Oda me today!
Resources:
https://www.euronews.com/my-europe/2022/11/04/cop27-despite-growing-calls-the-eu-intends-to-oppose-separate-fund-for-climate-reparations
Up 5 Down 3
Groucho d'North on Nov 6, 2022 at 12:15 pm
More LiberaL NEW-THINK: Extended Producer Responsibility, so then can we expect the oil & gas producers to start paying the carbon tax too? They certainly are making the profits...maybe as much as the government.
Perhaps they can walk the talk by first changing the cannibis packaging to much less plastic?
Or is this more "As I say - not as I do"?
Up 14 Down 3
John on Nov 5, 2022 at 12:56 pm
These people (a word I use loosely to describe them) are dim wits. Any business charged with having to pay will of course pass the cost on. Simple formula:
Government surcharges on business = extra costs to the consumer.
Ah, but they don't care. Never have. Never will...
Up 3 Down 4
Juniper Jackson on Nov 5, 2022 at 1:57 am
Dallas- you are probably not far off the mark with your comment, but I burst out laughing..scared the dog.
Up 17 Down 5
Atom on Nov 4, 2022 at 4:38 pm
Swore I wouldn't read this forum again.....but they are talking about banning paper bags now!
FFS just dump the s**t at the landfill and stop playing around with our money. Bunch of sillies.
The aliens are laughing at us....
Up 21 Down 3
Anie on Nov 4, 2022 at 3:13 pm
I withdraw my previous recommendation to take the survey. There are no controls. Anyone on the planet can take the survey, and as often as they want. That makes it worthless,
Up 18 Down 4
tradesman on Nov 4, 2022 at 2:24 pm
Wow, just took the survey and its a pretty useless survey. A huge White Elephant that no one is looking at is the waste from the Construction Industry- ITS HUGE and many projects do not separate their waste very much. They just pay higher tipping fees. The amount of plastic, cardboard, waste metal( much of what is recyclable copper/aluminum are still often scraped), wood, etc etc is staggering.
It should be Mandatory of items that can be recycled MUST be recycled. Whitehorse Star you should do some investigating... and you will have a great story.
Glass is no longer recycled since 2019 because of expense- fair enough BUT why not collect glass in 1 glass pit instead of mixing it in with general garbage. Technology will change in the future, or someone could come up with a use. If its inert like they say having 1 big pit of glass might be a great idea- stockpile it separately
Up 21 Down 2
wow on Nov 4, 2022 at 9:41 am
Taking the manufacturer to task for the cost of recycling their packaging without the cost going to the consumer, is like saying the Carbon Tax didn't get added to your grocery bill, or any consumer cost on absolutely anything! when will it end? I'm done with all this 'progress'. oh, and the ol' excuse of "this is what they do down south" to soften the blow is insulting! Question: will the BS Carbon Tax be added before or after the new EPR Tax? Will there be GST added to this new Consumer Tax?
Up 12 Down 5
Trash Talking on Nov 4, 2022 at 7:32 am
At Responsibility on Nov 3, 2022 at 1:01 pm:
People need to start leaving the excess plastic at the store. Take the product out of the packaging as soon as you pay for it. Throw it on the floor and demand a refund for the cost of the refuse.
Do your part to save the ducks, turtles, fish, seals and all marine life everywhere. Reduce, Reuse and Refuse! Refuse the refuse program!
Imagine - Twisted Sister singing in the background - We’re not gonna take it… Anymore…
Up 8 Down 23
Responsibility on Nov 3, 2022 at 1:01 pm
It's obvious from some of the comments here that people don't understand why this is necessary. First off, its not a question of putting in fees or continuing down our current path without consequence. If the government doesn't put in fees, then recycling will not be financially feasible. If recycling doesn't happen, then our dump fills up MUCH MUCH faster than it would otherwise. When the dump is full, the city has to go through the process of shutting down the dump which is not just putting a padlock on it and walking away. There are expensive remediation procedures to go through. Then there are the expenses of opening a new dump. So overall, it is very costly to close a dump and open a new one. This will be paid for by either cutting out a lot of other projects the city has and possibly taking away from snow clearing, roadwork etc OR raising property taxes. Pick your poison. The method proposed by the government here will make those people who produce the most waste, pay the most. Is it not fair that people who produce waste, pay for said waste? This is about personal responsibility.
As for people saying it will result in more illegal dumping, that is generally a paper tiger. I've lived in a few places in Canada and anytime similar things were warned about, it never happens. I think that in any population there are very few horrible people who would prefer to destroy their local environment just to save a few bucks. Those pieces of $%^& do exist of course, but they are likely doing this kind of stuff already. Plus if this were to increase, then the government can drastically increase the fines and punishments for those lowlifes since they are hard to catch. Make it really painful for if they do happen to get caught - kind of like how poachers are dealt with.
The population is skyrocketing around here and the increase in garbage production needs to be dealt with one way or another.
Up 25 Down 6
North_of_60 on Nov 2, 2022 at 2:56 pm
To make mistakes is human nature, but if you want things screwed-up on purpose, for your own good, then elect lieberals.
Up 16 Down 0
Anie on Nov 2, 2022 at 2:55 pm
It would have been good journalism if Whitehorse star reporter had taken 20 seconds to find the link to the survey and include it in this article. Let me do that - and please everyone take the survey
https://yukon.ca/en/engagements/extended-producer-responsibility-epr-yukon
Up 16 Down 0
Charlie's Aunt on Nov 2, 2022 at 2:11 pm
They want to make companies and producers responsible for recycling of their packaging. OK so stores will need recycling bins and we sort our packaging; this goes to Super Store, this to Save On, this to Walmart etc. In turn the stores return it to the producers. What a great game. How about they convince producers to lessen the packaging instead. Some plastic can't be recycled and ends up in a landfill somewhere, others stuff can only be recycled once.
Up 19 Down 5
JohanG on Nov 2, 2022 at 2:09 pm
Zero Waste Yukon is an inspiration for keeping our waste plastic out of the ocean. After recently learning that Raven only recycles the refundable plastic that the govt gives them money to collect, we decided to stop wasting plastic we're forced to accept with the items we buy. Of course it should be obvious that the most important action is to avoid over-packaged products as much as possible. However, all the non-refundable plastic that we dump in the pile at Raven gets bundled and trucked south burning more diesel fuel, where it's either incinerated or landfilled.
That's a huge waste so we decided to save a lot of energy and zero our plastic waste by burning it in the woodstove with a hot fire to help heat the house. No more shipping it somewhere else at great expense to be burned, when we can burn it here. Our house is in a forest where trace amounts of aerosol pollution is not a problem. Besides, we don't have very much waste plastic to dispose of, so it's not gonna matter in the big scheme of things. We no longer have plastic waste, it all gets converted to useful heat. This zero-waste plastic idea has caught on with a lot of friends who also heat with wood. Thanks to Zero Waste Yukon for giving us the idea. Share this with your friends who heat with wood.
Up 28 Down 4
John - with a J on Nov 2, 2022 at 1:12 pm
These people have elevated themselves into believing their own lies.
Up 25 Down 2
Recycle Rube on Nov 1, 2022 at 10:30 pm
If the data supported recycling actually working and not being a huge waste of time, I think we’d all be more interested. Most of the programs that come with fees end up increasing illegal dumping more than diverting to appropriate facilities. It looks like you’ve succeeded for a few years of reducing landfill on paper until people start to find all the garbage spread out in the bush. Give some northern BC townships a call. Ask how many years it took for them to catch on.
Used to think the government here was intentionally taking us for a ride with some of this stuff to pad the budget. Almost to be expected. Now I am beginning to understand that they actually believe their own propaganda. That’s such a freaky dystopian reality to wake up in. I’d almost prefer it to be corruption. Then at least you are left with some confidence of the relative level of the leadership’s intelligence.
This is the imposition of counter factual reality by degrees of trending idiocracy and magical thinking. What a cluster.
Up 32 Down 4
Dallas on Nov 1, 2022 at 9:10 pm
I’m gonna say it again haha the common denominator with the city territory and the country is a liberal ndp alliance,just keep voting these clowns in and the next tax will be a pleasure tax on the length of your Johnson or how many times you use it.
Up 17 Down 0
TMYK on Nov 1, 2022 at 9:02 pm
I’m sure any costs won’t get passed along to the consumer…
Up 24 Down 7
bonanzajoe on Nov 1, 2022 at 8:50 pm
Where do the commies come up with these ideas? Burn everything like the good old days. The vegetation needs the Carbon Dioxide to feed on so all life on the planet can live healthy. Don't fall for this "climate change" money making scam. Even Greta who has already made millions on it is laughing all the way to the bank. Reminds me of the old saying, "there's a sucker born every minute". Except now its a million every second.
Up 30 Down 3
Juniper Jackson on Nov 1, 2022 at 8:22 pm
I am so sick of the Liberal crap I could bite a wall.. They have more ways of getting our money out of us than Lego made Legos. Its a constant dig and gouge.
The way these dudes fly around and have summer homes on the lakes, winter homes, (heated with oil). Trudeau spent $12,000. yes..twelve thousand, dollars on groceries in the month of August. I month. Un****ingbelievable. Tell me again how much they all care about the environment..the ecology..
God help us..we are failing to help ourselves.
Up 25 Down 3
Josey Wales on Nov 1, 2022 at 6:05 pm
Waste diversion eh?
Well ya could trim management by 60%, administration by at least the same...20% of the ground force...ALL equity programs.
ADD meritocracy as a policy and watch the fat melt faster than snow in a pizza oven.
Is that what they mean by waste diversion?
Up 49 Down 5
To the dump, quit micro managing on Nov 1, 2022 at 4:46 pm
Yes another tax will certainly help with the cost of living crisis. Even the blessed greenpeace admits that recycling is pointless. https://www.city-journal.org/greenpeace-admits-recycling-doesnt-work?wallit_nosession=1
Up 53 Down 6
Vlad on Nov 1, 2022 at 3:54 pm
Ok so now your mandating Superstore and the like to deal with their plastic etc…they don’t have enough people to stock the shelves and furthermore the cost of staffing this silliness will be tacked on to the already inflated cost of food. Why can’t this government start helping Yukoners instead of virtue signalling every day…it is beyond ridiculous.
Up 52 Down 6
Max Mack on Nov 1, 2022 at 3:50 pm
EPR is just a fancy name for more costs/taxes which end up being passed on to consumers. Working class and the poor are disproportionately affected, but everyone will end up paying more so GY can play King with more of your money and politicians can pretend to be virtuous.
This newest scheme comes on top of endless rounds of changes in landfill rules, limits on waste, rural site closures, costly shipping of rural waste to Whitehorse, tipping fees, recycling fees, environmental fees, carbon taxes, "single-use" plastic ban, paper and plastic bag ban, and general inflation.
This never-ending cycle must end -- hopefully, before we are all ground into poverty by such "well meaning" oppression.