Apr 6 2009
The Scott Environmental Group (SEG) announced the opening of a new and innovative e-waste consolidation and collection facility in Kingston signaling a new beginning for e-waste reduction and environmental stewardship for Central and Eastern Ontario.
The facility has been developed in anticipation of a growing volume of e-waste from regional residential, commercial and industrial customers through the provincial waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) program. The WEEE Program is a waste diversion plan to channel unwanted electronic equipment such as computers and televisions into reuse and recycling programs to keep them out of landfill sites. The program was developed and is being implemented by Ontario Electronic Stewardship (OES), an industry organization established in 2007 by Waste Diversion Ontario (WDO). The WEEE program maps out a plan to divert 17,000 tonnes of e-waste in the first year rising to 75,000 tonnes annually (60 per cent of available material) in year five. Over the first five years, the target is to divert 161,000 tonnes.
"The launch of the WEEE program is a significant milestone on our path to a zero-waste future," said Ontario Environment Minister John Gerretsen. He added, "We are looking at waste in new ways and seeing the opportunities inherent in materials we once thought of as 'garbage' including our old televisions and computers. I congratulate those involved in this program and encourage all Ontarians to do what they can for the environment," Sean DeVries, chair of Ontario Electronic Stewardship (OES) states, "This program is a huge win for the environment and for all Ontarians," DeVries continues, "It will give both business and consumers the tools to ensure waste electronic equipment is managed properly and that valuable components are recycled into new products, not dumped in landfill sites."
This multi- million dollar investment represents a new market segment for SEG's growing service offering and will create innovative green jobs for the local economy. George Scott, CEO Scott Environmental Group Limited stated, "Our community has witnessed a substantial change in the alignment of our local workforce. This announcement furthers our corporate belief that the future prosperity of our province wears not only a blue collar for today but a green collar for tomorrow. We are very excited to accelerate this mandate".