The Canadian Institute for Environmental Law and Policy (CIELAP) has reported that Ottawa, Windsor and Burlington are the top hazardous waste districts in Ontario in a report, titled Hazardous Waste in Ontario: Progress and Challenges.

The report also identified issues in which the government had made progress, such as ending land disposal of untreated hazardous waste from large-quantity producers. “Finally, the government of Ontario is taking action on this file; the public understands the need for action but there is unfinished business,” said the institute’s executive director Anne Mitchell. “CIELAP urges the government to continue its efforts to safely dispose of hazardous waste and promote pollution prevention and toxic product use reduction.”

From 2000 to 2005, there was little change in the total volumes of hazardous solid and liquid wastes, falling slightly from 1.725 to 1.721 million metric tonnes in Ontario. The top three reported 671,876 tonnes in 2005, which was 39 percent of the total. The breakout was 250,887 tonnes for Ontario, 233,939 tonnes for Burlington and 187,050 tonnes for Windsor.

The institute made recommendations to the government on reducing these numbers. The report is available at www.cielap.org.

Links

• www.cielap.org