Durham Region named one of Ontario Electronic Stewardship’s top performing municipalities

WHITBY, ON July 12, 2012 –The Regional Municipality of Durham has been named one of Ontario Electronic Stewardship’s (OES) top performing municipalities. Since Durham joined OES’s recycling program in April 2009, Durham residents have diverted 2,100 tonnes of unwanted electronics (e-waste) from landfill and Durham ranks fifth in Ontario for its efforts.

“I’m thrilled to see the great job Durham residents are doing when it comes to properly disposing of their unwanted electronics,” said Cliff Curtis, Commissioner of Works. “Working with OES has provided our community with even more convenient and efficient ways to ensure end-of-life electronics are diverted from landfill, which is an important step in reaching our goal of 70 per cent diversion.”

Efforts from Ontarians like Durham residents have played a major role in helping OES collect more than 100,000 tonnes of electronics—that’s more than 16 pounds of e-waste per person in Ontario—in just three years. To put this number into context, imagine 12,222 tractor-trailer loads of unwanted electronics parked end-to-end from downtown Toronto all the way to Kingston.

Events and programs such as e-waste collection drives, Durham’s curbside collection program and the new apartment and condo e-waste pilot program in Durham have helped mobilize collection efforts and educate residents and businesses on the importance of properly recycling unwanted electronics.

For more information on recycling of e-waste in your community, visit www.durham.ca/waste.

Media Inquiries:
REGIONAL MUNICIPALITY OF DURHAM:
Joanne Paquette – Manager, Communications
905-668-7711 ext. 3732