Canadian Retailer - Winter 2013 - 35

user names and passwords I have
one user name and one password. I
report how much product was sold to
each province during a given time
period. It’s a lot easier.”
A similar effort is now underway
to extend the concept through the
establishment of the Canadian Stewardship Services Alliance—a joint
effort of provincial, industry-funded
councils that are responsible for the
recycling of printed paper and packaging as well as hazardous household waste.
“We are showing government that
we’re looking after our own problem
and doing it in the most efficient way
possible,” says Chant. “We’re sharing
best practices. We've taken it upon
ourselves to do it better. We think
we’ll improve the recycling rates and
will manage the costs better.”
The cost of responsibility

The cost of extended producer responsibility programs is also an issue
of growing concern to both retailers and manufacturers, Chant adds.
“The cost is growing every year and
it’s growing at double-digit rates,” he
says. “Fees have been going up because the cost of recycling has gone
up. There are estimates that show
that the move to extended producer responsibility by government,
along with rising targets and the inefficiency of a patchwork system of
recycling facilities could potentially
cost the industry $600 to $700 million
within the next five to ten years.”
A significant portion of those rising costs is associated with printed
paper and packaging. One of the
problems is that dozens of municipalities currently operate their own
small, inefficient recycling facilities.
One potential solution would be to
consolidate and create larger, centralized plants that could operate
more efficiently.
“Ultimately, we’re looking for the
most effective, efficient system that
recycles as much of the material as
possible in as cost effective a way as
possible,” says Chant. “The ineffi-

ciencies of having hundreds of municipalities taking care of their own
recycling independent of each other
is painfully apparent in the costs
that exist today.”
Win-win-win

Eliminating some of that duplication and inefficiency would benefit
manufacturers, retailers and the
consumer who ultimately pay for recycling through higher prices. Harmonizing product definitions would
also help, and many retailers believe
that could be accomplished through
inter-provincial co-operation. Home
Hardware’s Bois and his staff spend
a substantial amount of their time
dealing with the complexities built
into current programs.
“Retailers need to look at a product and ask themselves whether it’s a
number two plastic or a number four
plastic in the bottle of hand sanitizer,” he says, to cite one example.
“Manitoba has one fee. Ontario has
another.”
Then there are small appliances.
B.C. distinguishes between hot
countertop appliances such as coffee-makers and cold ones such as a
blender, between battery operated
and electric, between vacuum cleaners and swiffers…and that’s just the
start. “We need to develop a set of
codes for every product,” he says. “It
really creates a lot of pain for retailers. Product definitions are a major
issue for all products.”
Retail Council of Canada continues
to work with its members and the
industry to find solutions to the problems caused by a disharmonized
approach to environmental stewardship programs across provinces. For
more information about provincial
environmental stewardship programs, and ways to become involved
in creating a more harmonized
approach for retailers, contact Allen
Langdon, vice-president, sustainability, Retail Council of Canada by
email at alangdon@retailcouncil.
org, or by phone at 1-604-633-3145.

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Canadian Retailer - Winter 2013

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