EPR Canada releases results of first Canadian
Report Card on Extended Producer Responsibility
VANCOUVER, BC, July 12, 2012 - EPR Canada, a
not-for-profit group that monitors the rate at which Canada's
federal, provincial and territorial governments are adopting
legislative measures to make producers pay for managing the waste
generated from their post-consumer products and packaging,
announced today that British Columbia stands at the head of the
class.
EPR Canada published the score each government got in its first
Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) Report Card, which evaluates
federal, provincial and territorial EPR policies and programs in
place or pending by the end of 2011.
"British Columbia clearly ranked well above the other
governments. Its policies and programs designed to have producers
pay 100% of the cost of managing many of their products and
packaging after the consumer is finished with them are setting the
bar high for other governments in Canada," said EPR Canada
co-founder, Geoff Love.
He, like the other members of the organization has been a
central figure in developing EPR programs and policy drivers since
EPR was introduced to Canada in the 1990s.
"British Columbia is seriously committed to the principles of
reducing the amount of waste we produce," said Terry Lake, BC's
Minister of the Environment.
"We've worked hard for years to create policies that put
responsibility fully in the hands of producers and consumers and we
assess our progress continually to take stock of how we're doing
and what more we can do. This recognition comes at a time when we
are about to expand EPR to printed paper and packaging and we are
proud that our hard work and success in this important area of
environmental stewardship is being acknowledged."
Minister Lake credited his Ministry of the Environment staff and
industry for the successes BC has enjoyed.
"The success of our EPR programs is based on the efforts of the
people in my department, along with the collaboration of business
leaders throughout our province. They are the ones who make these
programs work for all British Columbians," he said.
"Manitoba, Quebec and Nova Scotia came in close behind BC," said
Christina Seidel, another member of EPR Canada. "But BC's
leadership in developing policies and encouraging programs where
the producers take lead responsibility instead of municipalities
and regional waste authorities sets the best example for the rest
of Canada. Our Report Card notes what each jurisdiction is doing
well and where it can improve."
The scores for each jurisdiction are shown to the
right:
| BC |
A- |
| Alberta |
C |
| Saskatchewan |
C- |
| Manitoba |
B- |
| Ontario |
C+ |
| Quebec |
B- |
| New Brunswick |
C- |
| PEI |
C+ |
| Nova Scotia |
B- |
Newfoundland
& Labrador |
C- |
| Canada (federal gov't) |
F |
The only jurisdiction to receive a failing grade is the federal
government; the only jurisdiction not to respond to the
questionnaire this year is Nunavut.
As a result of the unique challenges faced by the
territories, EPR Canada chose not to allocate a score this year to
the Yukon or the Northwest Territories, both of which submitted
completed questionnaires. Both, however, show progress toward
putting EPR programs in place.
The team of EPR Canada judges rated each government's
performance based on responses their departments of environment
provided to a questionnaire that EPR Canada sent to each
Environment Minister earlier this year.
The Canadian Council of Ministers of the Environment (CCME)
defines extended producer responsibility as a policy approach in
which a producer's responsibility, physical and/or financial, for a
product is extended to the post-consumer stage of a product's life
cycle, shifting it away from municipalities and regional waste
authorities. It also encourages producers to incorporate
environmental considerations in the design of their products.
The 2011 Report Card is the first of several annual ratings that
EPR Canada plans to produce and publish on its website, www.eprcanada.ca EPR Report Card, 2011
published on www.eprcanada.ca EPR Canada Q&A
posted on www.eprcanada.ca