I have been impressed that for years some European nations, particularly Germany, have laws requiring manufacturers and retailers to take back packaging from products after they have been sold. This responsibility encourages those who sell products to consider how much packaging is necessary, and there is considerable benefit to keeping the stuff our stuff is wrapped in out of landfills and recycling plants. In North America municipal recycling programs are overloaded and some jurisdictions in Canada have tried to ship garbage to distant countries, only to have it "returned to sender."
I am cautiously optimistic about the announcement here in Ontario about a plan to make product manufacturers and retailers responsible for the province’s Blue Box program, a move the Progressive Conservative government says would help reduce waste and save municipalities millions of dollars each year. Environment Minister Jeff Yurek said Thursday the transition will happen in phases starting in 2023 and be completed two years later.The program will encourage industry to change how it packages products to cut down on waste and would harmonize the 240 existing Blue Box programs, which each have their own lists of accepted materials.
As a Christian who attempts to be environmentally responsible this sounds good, although I have to admit that the current government is guilty until proven innocent in my eyes, simply because virtually every initiative it has undertaken has a goal of reducing the deficit rather than as part of a comprehensive plan for sensible governance. Mr. Ford is determined to cut and download and privatize his way through his mandate and this could be more of the same. Add to that the hope many of us have that his government will have been voted out of power by 2023. How is that for damning something with faint praise!
Corn, husked and packaged in plastic
It is important for provincial governments to do everything possible to develop practical legislation to reduce the mountains of trash we produce, often without thinking. The federal initiative regarding single use plastics is also a step in the right direction. And every day, in every way we as individuals must take care of Creation through our choices of products. It's not enough to put out the blue boxes every week and hope for the best.
Protestors Outside the Canadian Embassy in Manila, Philippines
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