Ontario: How to dispose of batteries, and their poisons
Toronto Star / Peter Gorrie / 20 February 2010
The province is establishing a revamped process for recycling almost all of our discards. On July 1, it's to launch a plan for 22 types of hazardous and household waste, including batteries – both rechargeable and single-use.
The board of Waste Diversion Ontario, or WDO – the government agency created to manage recycling – is deciding whether Call2Recycle should have a continuing role here. Its alternative is to hand the job entirely to Stewardship Ontario. It's a non-profit group that the province has assigned to design programs and targets for each recyclable material, and to collect enough money from companies that produce or import them to cover the recycling costs.
WDO has approved Stewardship Ontario's battery plan. It could let Call2Recycle run a parallel program if the board concludes it's as good as, or better than, Stewardship's plan. That decision might come on Wednesday. If WDO accepts Smith's plan, battery makers could sign on to either program.
