Like it or not as of April 1, 2009 producers and importers will have to start paying recycling fees for all televisions and computers that are sold in Ontario. It’s impossible to believe that these charges are not going to be passed along to you and me. The recycling fees are substantial:

Desktop computer $13.44
Monitor $12.03
Television $10.07
Printer $5.05
Laptop computer $2.14
Mouse $0.32
Keyboard $0.32

This is only phase one. Next summer recycling fees (yet to be determined) will most likely be added on telephones, cell phones, BlackBerrys, pagers, answering machines, modems, cameras, photocopiers, flatbed scanners, video and DVD players, radios, and stereo equipment. There is an organization called Waste Diversion Ontario that will be running the collecting and recycling operation. Approximately 650 drop-off depots will be opened across the province to deal with the massive amounts of electronic equipment that is expected within the next 5 years when it is estimated that Ontarians will throw out 2.2 million TVs and 4 million desktop computers each year. At the moment only 27% of all electronic waste is reused or recycled. With this new program in place it is estimated that by year 5 approximately 61% of electronic waste will be reused or recycled.

They say that the purpose for adding these recycling fees is to hit the manufacturers in the bank account in order to get them to produce environmentally friendly products. Call me skeptical, but I find it difficult to believe that a program that is expected to generate $62 million in the first year alone was created for altruistic purposes.