Many overtaxed British Columbians, already annoyed by the recycling tax grab on electronic products, may be surprised to learn the government wants to tax even more electronic products. The last thing needed in B.C. is more bureaucracy charging more taxes that do nothing to encourage people to recycle.

The Electronics Stewardship Association of BC (ESABC) is a non-profit agency set up by the B.C. government in February 2006 to direct the government's recycling program. ESABC selected Encorp Pacific Canada, to collect and handle recycled electronics. The program started in August 2007.

So now, purchasers of all desktop, notebook and server computers, monitors, printers, and televisions, pay a “provincial environmental fee” (government-speak for tax). The ESABC plans to add computer scanners, audio and video recording and playback systems, vehicle audio and video systems, and all types of telephones to the tax list.

However, yet another tax, handled by yet another unaccountable bureaucracy, is unlikely to lead to more recycling. Why? The electronic fee is charged at the point-of-purchase but not returned, like a deposit, when the product is dropped off at Encorp or a charity-run depot. The government's recycling model creates no incentive to recycle.
 
The ESABC's good intentions have already hurt small business and could further hamper existing recycling efforts. Electronic recycling, already underway in the private sector, had been growing considerably – all at no cost to taxpayers.

In 2006, James Webb, owner a Victoria electronic recycling company called Breakdown Recycle, said his company saved landfills over 1,000 tonnes of e-waste during its three years of operation. It had grown rate of about 100 percent each year – pretty impressive for a small business.

Breakdown Recycle is no longer in business. Why?  According to Mr. Webb, ESABC had concerns about electronic handling at his facility. Mr. Webb sent used computers to a schools program in Pakistan, but ESABC doesn't allow its recyclers to send material to non OECD countries -- so much for reuse.

Now, ESABC wants to muscle in on an area where voluntary, tax-free electronic recycling already exists. The cell phone industry, under the industry-led Recycle My Cell program, collected over 111,000 cell phones in 400 drop-off sites in B.C. over the past two years – all at no cost to taxpayers. Starting to see a pattern here?

Private industry is taking responsibility for its own waste. Surely being able to drop an electronic product off at a retail outlet will mean more recycling than government programs that remove responsibility from retailers and make drop off more difficult.

It gets worse. The ESABC collects a lot of money with its recycling tax. In 2007, ESABC collected about $13-million, had $4.5-million in expenses and put $8.4-million in its reserve fund. The equivalent organization in Alberta, after three years of operation, has $74-million in its reserve fund. The Alberta Recycling Management Authority consistently overtaxes electronics buyers then doesn't collect as many recyclables as it expects to. These non-profit organizations are supposed to operate on a cost-recovery basis, yet create multi-million dollar surpluses each year because the model just doesn't work. Can you say tax grab?
        
Recycling is a great idea for many reasons and businesses are fully capable of recycling without a heavy-handed bureaucracy -- funded by taxpayers. Government is increasing our tax burden and at the same time, undermine existing programs that didn't cost taxpayers anything. It's time to stop the recycling tax grab.

Make your views known by emailing [email protected] or by mail to ESABC Phase II Public Consultation c/o Joyce Thayer, Executive Director, ESABC PO Box 1052 Suite 1650, 885 W. Georgia St. Vancouver, BC, V6C 3E8