Quebec Blue Box levy increase soars for magazines

The province of Quebec has changed its Blue Box recycling program and according to calculations by Magazines Canada  costs to publishers will be up about 340% in the province in 2012 when industry is expected to cover 90% of costs.
Bill 88 was adopted June 10 and amendments mean that magazines  (previously categorized as "written media" are now lumped in with all other "printed matter" (flyers,

Recycled paper gets special displays for some U.S. magazines

Barnes & Noble stores in the U.S. are in the second year of featuring magazines that use recycled paper in special magazine racks in over 240 of their largest stores. The project is being done in partnership with Green America’s Better Paper Project. Since the project started, 46 magazines have taken part.The ten magazines participating in this month’s promotion include: Tricycle, Mother Jones,

Manitoba magazine publishers demand fair blue box treatment

Since 2007, the Manitoba Magazine Publishers Association (MMPA) has been on record as opposing the draft proposal for an 80% blue box levy for magazines. (See earlier post for details.) This week, it reminded Stewardship Manitoba, the government agency considering the new levy, of four key points in the position paper it submitted:Magazines which use eco-certified paper which is 25% or more

Ontario magazine publishers face 53% blue box fee increase

Magazine publishers in Ontario are this year facing a whopping 53% increase in the fees they pay to cover their 50% share of blue box recycling. Stewardship Ontario has released its 2009 fee schedule and it says that participating publishers will be paying 3.37 cents a kilogram. Last year, the cost was 2.182 cents per kilo. Since 2003, the cost to magazine publishers has increased from 0.081

Roundtable created to recommend how Ontario can fix flaws in blue box program

Citing continuing "glaring flaws" in the Ontario blue box recycling program, Magazines Canada has announced the creation of a roundtable to make recommendations to the province to change it . Ontario’s Minister of the Environment, John Gerretsen released a discussion paper on the Waste Diversion Act on October 21 for public consultation. The proposed roundtable will reach beyond magazine

Momentum building towards green paper

Magazines in the U.S. are being slow to convert to recycled paper, but momentum is building. Cost, misconceptions and general ignorance are among the reasons given in an item in Folio: magazine's online site. [see earlier posts about ancient forest friendly paper.]There are about 100 magazines currently printing on recycled paper, says Frank Locantore, director of the Magazine Paper Project for

Foreign publishers get a free ride in Ontario blue box levy

A few years back the Ontario government started taxing magazines over a certain size to offset 50% of their contribution to the costs of the Blue Box recycling program. The Waste Diversion Act (2002) levied a per-kilogram charge on magazines, catalogues, phone books and other printed matter.Stewardship Ontario, as the government euphemistically dubbed the program, required publishers resident in