Newfoundland has Paper Recycling Woes Too...

ST. JOHN 'S, Newfoundland - Ocean waves crash against rocky cliffs as the North Atlantic winds breathe life into grassy plains. It's this idyllic image that has made Newfoundland and Labrador one of the country's natural treasures, a province largely untouched and unspoiled by man.

But for years, Newfoundland has also struggled to deliver programs and services aimed at waste reduction.

Recently, the only free recycling depot operator in St. John's stopped accepting paper, cardboard, boxboard and glossy materials, and scaled back its collection of newsprint.

The decision by Ever Green Recycling means up to 400 tonnes of paper products - the equivalent of anywhere from 3,200 to 9,600 trees, depending on the actual material - will likely end up in landfills this year.

There is no publicly funded curbside recycling program in St. John's - one of only two provincial capitals that doesn't offer such a service - though there are plans to implement one next year.

Mike Wadden, chief operating officer of Ever Green Recycling, said the non-profit charity lost $100,000 recycling paper products last year. "It's not something that we wanted to do," Wadden said. "We're frustrated that we couldn't be able to offer this service, but it's very expensive to recycle this material." Wadden sought financial help from the provincial government to continue offering the service, but was rejected.

"This is going to be a service that's going to be in place in one year anyway, so having a free drop-off will kind of be redundant," Environment Minister Charlene Johnson said.

Johnson acknowledged that the options for residents beyond dumping the paper in the garbage were limited, but said Ever Green's decision would result in only a "marginal" impact on landfills. Unfortunately, in the meantime, there's little they can do.

Diana Baird, chairwoman of the Newfoundland and Labrador Environment Network, said people in the province are willing to cut back on their waste disposal, but have long lacked access to necessary recycling services. "Newfoundlanders, by and large, they want to do the right thing," she said. "They just need to have the means provided to be able to do that."

The province's record on environmental stewardship has been spotty. Six years ago, the previous Liberal government introduced a waste management plan setting out a series of promises and timelines calling for the elimination of open burning at disposal sites by 2005 and the diversion of 50 per cent of waste out of landfills by 2010. But no money was committed, and many of the plan's goals were not met.

Last year, the current Conservative government announced it would put $200 million towards a revised waste management plan. It pledges to divert half of all garbage out of landfills by 2015 and phase out open burning by 2012.

In 2002, there were 50 teepee incinerators in operation. Today, there are 25 of the cone-shaped, steel ovens, which are used to burn all sorts of waste and have been widely condemned for generating a toxic mix of cancer-causing dioxins and furans. Johnson said she's confident the remaining incinerators will be shut down by the end of the year.

Curbside recycling, which some communities in the province have already implemented, will be rolled out across Newfoundland and Labrador by 2020, she added.

"I do agree that there are other parts of Canada that have a system up and running that does work," she said. "Our goal is to be there too." [Canadian Press]

(Source: Feb. 2008 WasteWatch)

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