Canadian Tire Apologizes For Eco-Fee Error, PC Leader Vows To Scrap The Program
Posted July 14, 2010 10:42 am.
This article is more than 5 years old.
Canadian Tire has apologized for a mistake on how it’s applied the controversial new eco-fee to one of its products.
A Toronto location charged 13 cents per bottle for the biodegradable and “earth-friendly” product Mrs. Meyer’s Clean Day shower cleaner. The bottle contains natural ingredients.
The store charged customers more than it costs to recycle the product. Canadian Tire blamed a programming error in the point of sale system and said the problem would be fixed by Wednesday.
Canadian Tire has said it will reimburse customers for the difference between the incorrect fee and the correct, and now adjusted fee.
The province said some environmentally conscious products may still be considered corrosives and are therefore subject to the fee.
The costs of a wide array of products with toxic ingredients, including aerosol sprays, cleaners, paints, batteries and fluorescent light bulbs, increased this month when eco-fee came into effect. The extra charge is intended to keep products that pose environmental and health hazards out of landfills. The fee goes to Stewardship Ontario to cover the costs of recycling.
Find the full list of affected products and their fees here.
The group has admitted it doesn’t have a way to monitor or control how much retailers are charging.
The program is not run by the province, but by Stewardship Ontario. Provincial Environment Minister John Gerretsen warned the organization that if it doesn’t implement an auditing system to ensure stores are charging correct and consistent fees the province will scrap the program altogether.
Critics say the new fee came into effect with no warning on July 1st – the same day the harmonized sales tax was implemented.
Ontario Progressive Conservative Leader Tim Hudak claims the recently implemented eco-fee, which ranges from a few cents to $5 or $6, on products with hazardous ingredients isn’t about cleaning up the environment, but pulling more cash from consumers.
Hudak promised to scrap the fee should his party win the next provincial election in October 2011.
With files from the Canadian Press
