Provincial candidates weigh in on environmental issues in wake of Emterra mishap

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This article was published 15/08/2019 (1715 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

As pop cans pile up taller than the trucks that haul the recyclables at a Winnipeg plant, the parties vying for the provincial leadership are discussing their support for composting initiatives to improve waste management in Manitoba.

Last week, a fire halted sorting operations at the Emterra Environmental plant, which has resulted in mounds of paper and plastics around the facility. The eyesore has drawn attention to Winnipeg’s ever-ballooning waste, limited international markets for these materials and the fact the city has been selling paper for recycling at a loss.

“Hopefully they can get the plant going again, but we really need to have a much bigger think about how we do recycling in general,” said Green Party of Manitoba Leader James Beddome, who is standing as a candidate in both the upcoming provincial and federal elections.

Beddome suggests a single-use plastic ban, finding local markets for recyclables and putting a 10 cent refundable deposit on pop cans to encourage returns. The Greens’ campaign also includes implementing composting programs in Manitoba municipalities.

The party leader applauded the Ontario government’s latest announcement to make product manufacturers and retailers responsible for its recycling program. By making producers responsible for retrieving packaging and products at the end of their life cycle, there’s an incentive to cut down on packaging and make longer-lasting products, Beddome added.

Manitoba Liberal Party leader Dougald Lamont also said Friday his party would also be in favour of following its neighbour’s lead to put more onus on companies when it comes to waste. Lamont said he would implement a ban on single use plastics and encourage better recycling practices, as well as the use of “genuinely biodegradable” materials, if elected Sept. 10.

“We have to do better,” he said about keeping organic materials out of landfills.

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Meanwhile, the NDP will be “an environmental leader” by investing in both cities and towns’ recycling programs and organic diversion programs across the province, said Lisa Naylor, the party’s candidate for Wolseley. Naylor said the party is particularly interested in working with the federal government on rolling out restrictions on plastic use in the food packaging industry.

Both the NDP and Liberals said Manitobans should expect more environmental-related announcements from their parties soon.

A spokesperson for the Progressive Conservative party told the Free Press the party plans to announce “something on recycling” later in the campaign.

maggie.macintosh@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @macintoshmaggie

Maggie Macintosh
Reporter

Maggie Macintosh reports on education for the Winnipeg Free Press. Funding for the Free Press education reporter comes from the Government of Canada through the Local Journalism Initiative.

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