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You'll soon be recycling more — and paying to do it

An expanding provincial recycling program will soon include a greater number of electrical products, meaning more eco fees at the till.

An expanding provincial recycling program will soon include a greater number of electrical products, from power tools and sewing machines to treadmills and Game Boys.

Which means more eco fees at the till.

The non-profit ElectroRecycle program is funded by a recycling fee applied to new electrical products brought into B.C. by small appliance manufacturers and retailers.

As of July 1, a fee will be applied to the sale of new products, including small appliances and electric fitness equipment. Eco fees are already added to items such as hair dryers ($1), mixers ($2.25) and microwaves ($10).

"Now they've expanded basically to everything that has an extension cord or a battery," said Bert Heeringa, owner of Canadian Tire in Courtenay. "So if you buy a treadmill or you buy a fan or you buy a power drill, there's eco fees on everything. It's a pretty extensive program."

Purchasers of electronic books, GPS devices and video games with extension cords will also get dinged.

The recycling fee was introduced in October to cover collection, transportation and recycling costs. It may be included in a product’s price or displayed as a separate charge at checkout.

"For businesses (and consumers) there will be some adjustment with the additional recycling fees and handling of the items by the businesses and charging the fees," Comox Valley Chamber of Commerce president Dianne Hawkins said.

Canadian Tire plans to list the fee on receipts.

"The big thing people want to know is, if they return something, do they get the fee back?" Heeringa said. "Of course they do."

For more information visit www.unpluggedrecycling.ca.

reporter@comoxvalleyrecord.com