Ontario Liberals Approve Increased Tire Eco-Fee, Which Will Impact Farmers

Mar 25, 2013

Ontario Eco-Fee Fees Raised by 2,200 Per Cent Will Cost Farmers More to Recycle Farm Tires

The Ontario Liberals are raising eco-fees by more than 2,200 per cent which is set to come into effect on April 1st.

The raised eco-fee will mean that recycling a front tire on a harvest combine will be raised from $15.29 to $352.80.

Ontario Progressive Conservative (PC) Environment Critic (Kitchener-Conestoga) MPP Michael Harris said on Friday that this new set of eco-fees will take millions of dollars out of the agricultural sector to pay for the Liberals mismanaged recycling program.

“To raise eco-fees by more than 2,200% without properly consulting farmers or other affected industries not only is unfair, but also demonstrates the failure of the Liberals’ tire recycling program,” Harris said in a press release.

Since the Ontario Tire Stewardship program was created in 2008 its run deficits on off-road tires which would include tires used on dump trucks, tractors, feller benchers and more.

The PCs propose that the government be setting waste diversion targets and developing environmental standards to follow the process.

Video: Evolution of Beef Cattle Farming

The Clear Conversations podcast took to the road for a special episode recorded in Nashville during CattleCon, bringing listeners straight into the heart of the cattle industry. Host Tracy Sellers welcomed rancher Steve Wooten of Beatty Canyon Ranch in Colorado for a wide-ranging discussion that blended family history and sustainability, particularly as it relates to the future of beef production.

Sustainability emerged as a central theme of the conversation, a word that Wooten acknowledges can mean very different things depending on who you ask. For him, sustainability starts with the soil. Healthy soil produces healthy grass, which supports efficient cattle capable of producing year after year with minimal external inputs. It’s an approach that equally considers vegetation, animal efficiency, and long-term profitability.

That philosophy aligned naturally with Wooten’s involvement in the U.S. Roundtable for Sustainable Beef, where he served as a representative for the Colorado Cattlemen’s Association. The roundtable brings together the entire beef supply chain—from producers to retailers—along with universities, NGOs, and allied industries. Its goal is not regulation, Wooten emphasized, but collaboration, shared learning, and continuous improvement.