St. John's e-waste fee plan gets mixed reaction

Newfoundland and Labrador consumers might soon pay more for electronics under a computer and television recycling plan being floated by the board that oversees recycling in the province.

"If you look across the country, you'll see examples of jurisdictions where consumers are charged an environmental fee on the front end," said Mike Samson, interim CEO of the Multi-Materials Stewardship Board.

"You'll see other examples of programs where there is no visible fee, and that the costs of the industry, the industry-stewardship, of the product is actually built in to the retail price."

The provincial government will roll out its e-waste strategy this fall.

So far, the prospects of an extra fee which in some provinces adds$45 to the cost of a big screen TV, is getting mixed reviews from consumers in St. John's.

"I'm taxed to death. Everywhere we go [it's] tax. I'm sick of it," said WalMart shopper Robert Baker.

Others like Mark Hubert disagree, saying more people need to take responsibility for recycling costs.

"I don't mind about that. To me, that's small. I mean, if it helps the environment then we need it," he said.

Alberta already has environmental fees for e-waste, where Dana Sinnott first encountered it.

"Well, I was living in Calgary for a couple of months and we had to pay environmental fees on all our electronics and things like that, so I agree completely," she said.