Randy Coulter of Twenty-Twelve Electronics Recycling. (Darren Brown, OBJ)

Ottawa e-recyclers look to upcoming federal, provincial programs

High-tech tycoons and high-powered executives tend to go through computers as quickly as clothing enthusiasts with fashions.

But with each generation of computers there's an older one to be disposed of, and safely, lest it end up leaking in some forlorn landfill. For years, Ottawa electronic recycling companies – such as Randy Coulter's Twenty-Twelve Electronics Recycling Inc. – have addressed the problem virtually on their own.

But that's set to shift in February, when the province institutes the Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) Program to fund those who follow government guidelines for recycling or reusing products.

"The basic premise is they want to use as much of the groups as they can that are already there," says Mr. Coulter, whose business is located in Ottawa's west end.

"Some of the municipalities are collecting. Some companies are private. Some are non-profit. So the government wants to take all of these organizations and standardize them," he says, adding the program will offer $165 per tonne of recycled material.

The upcoming provincial program received renewed local attention last week when the federal government – one of Ottawa's largest employers – announced it will institute its own electronic recycling program in 2010.

As of press time, Public Works and Government Services Canada (PWGSC) did not respond to requests for information about the program.

But industry-led programs in Ottawa aren't waiting for large employers such as the federal government to take action on recycling, says Jay Illingworth, vice-president of industry group Electronics Product Stewardship Canada.

"The best thing for industry has been to get ahead of the curve and work with regulators," he says. "Our companies have been recycling electronics for decades. We know what's in there."

Industry programs have been around for a long time, but attitudes of consumers took a while to catch up, says Robert Brodie, founder of Computer Recyclers Inc. on MacFarlane Road.

For a number of years, he adds, people came into his store expecting to receive payment for bringing in old computers. Mr. Brodie receives only 54 cents a pound for sending obsolete material to a recycler in the United States.

Ottawa recyclers tend to focus on residential waste due to the denizen-targeted Take It Back! program, a city-run initiative encouraging locals to bring in waste of all sorts to one of 500 approved dealers. Nearly 30 local companies are on the program's computer-recycling list alone.

The program is the one-man mission of George Reimer, the city's waste diversion project co-ordinator. A 2002 audit showed the initiative takes 500 tonnes of waste out of resident households each year, he says.

Sony's Ottawa Service Group decided to join the program in February amid concerns the company was not doing enough to promote recycling. "We thought we should start recycling and send as little to the landfill as possible," says Wanda Stitt, the company's office manager.

Whether the federal government will take advantage of Ottawa local programs is up for debate, but Mr. Illingworth says companies should begin planning now to address the government's proposed recycling program in two years.

"One of the things I've made clear to the federal government is industry needs to be consulted early and often as this program moves forward."

He adds, "The federal government's a big animal and it probably takes them some time to do. We've been in discussions since 2003, so there's lots of time for them to ramp up and get (recycling) into place."

---

ELECTRO-JUNK

The Stewardship Program

The new Ontario Electronic Stewardship program, also known as the Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) Program, will launch Feb. 1, 2009. It's an initiative of Waste Diversion Ontario, created under the province's 2002 Waste Diversion Act to promote recycling and develop waste diversion programs.

The idea is for computer manufacturers to take responsibility for recycling their own equipment. For that reason, importers, brand owners and assemblers will be the first industry groups targeted for stewardship.

The program will begin by focusing on computer equipment and expand to telephones, radios, turntables and other devices at a later date.

Source: Ontario Electronic Stewardship Final WEEE Program Plan, March 31