I emailed this earlier today:

Mr. Sterling,

Before I start, I'd like to congratulate you on your recent re-election. The overall election results were rather surprising, though in hindsight, not entirely unexpected. I also want to thank you for the pressure you are keeping on the Carp Dump situation.

I recently brought a small crate of unwanted electronics to a local "Take It Back" program participant for proper disposal. I was prepared to pay the "small handling fee" they had verbally quoted at $35.

I was stunned, however, when they gave me a receipt for $30, plus GST and PST. Shocked. Why have the federal and provincial governments not tax-exempted waste diversion/recuperation services? I could have easily sent them to landfill with the rest of my garbage for free (well, through municipal taxes), but, mindful of future generations, I chose to dispose of them properly at my personal time and expense. Had I known about the upcoming amnesty day for electronic components, I would have waited a few more weeks and at least saved my money.

The Ontario government already has several excellent incentive programs, aimed at what consumers bring into their homes (PST-exempt EnergyStar qualified appliances and a cost sharing program for packaging materials, for example). When will the government extend their attention to address what goes OUT of consumer's homes, by shouldering more waste diversion program costs, or, at the very least, exempting compost bins, rain barrels, electronic recuperation programs, and the like from the PST as well? Certainly this would make diverting toxic trash from the Carp dump more palatable, even more accessible, and help secure a clean environment for our children to grow into the strong and vibrant workforce of tomorrow.

Bottom line is, we should not be taxed for our greenwill.