Reducing Electronic & Related Waste in Canada

On a recent shopping excursion to London Drugs in Vancouver BC, I bought a small appliance as a gift for someone.

I noticed an extra little charge on the receipt. Below is a photo showing the receipt with the CESA levy added to the cost of the small appliance.

There's more information about CESA (which stands for the Canadian Electrical Stewardship Association).  if you visit the CESA website.

Not everyone is happy about having to pay these levies. But the reality is that we all pay now or we pay later. It makes me cringe to imagine the amount of broken appliances already buried in landfills.

When it comes to recycling, it really makes more sense for people to pay the fees up front when they buy the items rather than when the items are broken or no longer usable. It's still too easy for people to merely throw them in the garbage and they then end up in landfills. I've seen my share of large TVs and other electronic items that have been thrown into dumpsters.

In Canada, for those who want to take items to be recycled, there's a website that helps you find depots to take those items. It's Unplugged Recycling.  http://www.unpluggedrecycling.ca/

There are some companies are taking the initiative to take things back without charging fees. More in my next post...