Newspaper Recycling Agreement Signed
Another successful recycling agreement is being added to the province’s long list of environmental accomplishments.
Through a voluntary agreement, daily newspapers that circulate in Nova Scotia will provide $10-worth of in-kind advertising to the Resource Recovery Fund Board for each tonne of newsprint purchased by the papers.
The agreement is supported by the Halifax Herald Limited, the Halifax Daily News, the Amherst Daily News, the Cape Breton Post, the Truro Daily News, the Evening News (New Glasgow), the Globe and Mail and the National Post.
"The fact that these newspapers, who are normally aggressive competitors, are sitting down to address these concerns for their industry shows the high level of importance Nova Scotians are putting on environmental issues. It’s this attitude that has made Nova Scotians world leaders in recycling," said Environment and Labour Minister David Morse.
Mr. Morse announced the agreement today during an Environment Week celebration at Province House. As part of the event, Trihedral Engineering of Bedford was named winner of the Green Office Challenge for successfully implementing workplace recycling initiatives.
The Green Office checklist outlines 50 initiatives to reduce waste in the workplace, including setting up a newspaper recycling program.
The 10-year agreement with the newspapers will be used to educate the public on environmental issues like recycling, composting and litter reduction. It will be administered by the Resource Recovery Fund Board.
"The Herald has been the most widely read newspaper in Nova Scotia for more than 100 years. We see this agreement as an opportunity to inform Nova Scotians about the value of recycling and the importance of the environment in all our lives," says Ian Scott, assistant general manager at The Herald. "Our hope is that--with newspapers leading the way--other contributors to the solid waste stream will come on board and help to reduce, reuse and recycle."
"We are very pleased to be teamed-up once again with the Department of the Environment and Labour and the Resource Recovery Fund Board on recycling efforts in Nova Scotia," said Mark Richardson, publisher of the Halifax Daily News. "This stewardship agreement is a win-win arrangement for Nova Scotians, government and daily newspapers. It provides stability for the newspapers while supporting the needs of the Resource Recovery Fund Board."
In the past year, Nova Scotia has gained world-wide recognition for its successful recycling programs. Nova Scotia is the first and only province to achieve 50 per cent diversion by 2000. The curbside recycling or "blue bag" program is accessible to all residents in the province.
The recycling agreement with the newspapers is only one of a number of industry agreements in place to protect our environment. The government has already signed industry agreements to recycle dairy product containers, beverage containers, old tires, used motor oil and used needles and syringes.