As you may know, one of the key pillars of Chamber of Commerce membership is advocacy. We are committed to representing our members' interests on policies, regulations, and decisions that are critical to creating a favourable environment for business success and the future of Caledonia and beyond. A unified voice makes us stronger, as we work to continue to be an area with thriving business opportunities, a strong economy, and a better life for all.
We are deeply concerned about the recent decision to stop curbside collecting recyclable materials for businesses in Ontario and have prepared a letter template that you can use to express your concerns as well. We encourage you to edit the letter as you see fit and share it with our local Provincial representative Bobbi Ann Brady as well as the Minister of the Environment.
Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks
Hon. Andrea Khanjin Minister
College Park 5th Flr,
777 Bay St, Toronto, ON
M7A 2J3
Bobbi Ann Brady
PO Box 91
Simcoe, ON
N3Y 4K8
519-428-0446
I am writing to express my deep concern regarding the recent decision to stop curbside collecting recyclable materials for businesses in Ontario.
As a tax-paying business in Haldimand County, we expect garbage and recycling collection to be included in the business tax assessment, as according to the Haldimand County’s website, “garbage and recycling collection is part of the solid waste operations that are funded by the property taxes paid by businesses.” According to a survey conducted by Statistics Canada, in 2020, Canadian businesses and households diverted almost 10 million tonnes of material from landfills, up by 4% (352 000 tonnes) from 2018. The two most populous provinces, Ontario and Quebec, diverted the most waste in 2020. This shows that curbside collection is an effective way to divert waste from landfills.
This lack of proper recycling facilities and infrastructure will lead to an increase in waste and pollution, which will have long-term consequences for the environment far beyond our regional border. Further, the Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks has waste diversion targets that will be difficult to meet should an alternative arrangement that does not rely on the labour of businesses to achieve. We urge you to reconsider this decision and take into account the environmental impact of this move.
Should businesses decide to sort, store and deliver manually to a facility, this cost is placed directly on the owner. This decision will also lead to a significant increase in the cost of transporting recyclable materials to recycling facilities as the lack of curbside collection now means that businesses have to transport their recyclable materials to recycling facilities themselves, affecting their bottom line as this is an added expense is labour and fiscally prohibitive.
We urge you to reconsider this decision and take into account the environmental impact and the fiscal detriment to our business with this move.
Thank you for your attention to this matter.