Nova Scotia agency raises container handling fees. (Municipal Recycling).

RRFB Nova Scotia, Truro, has announced an immediate increase in beverage container handling fees paid to the province's Enviro-Depot[TM] operators.

RRFB Nova Scotia's Board of Directors has agreed that the fee increase to $.03, which was due in full by Wednesday, May 28, is retroactive for the period April 1,2002, to April 1, 2003. The container-handling fee then increases to 3.1 cents, retroactive from April 1,2003. RRFB's board of directors will convene a joint-committee comprised of Enviro-Depot operators and board members to develop a long-term strategy for container handling fees, which will be in place by April 1, 2004.

According to a RRFB Nova Scotia, the increased handling fees will provide approximately $600,000 of new money to the province's Enviro-Depot system.

"RRFB Nova Scotia has agreed to pay a higher handling fee that will increase depotoperators' revenues by $600,000 for 2002 and 2003 and still allow us to adequately fund Nova Scotia's world-renowned waste reduction programs," Derek Firth, Chief Operating Officer of RRFB Nova Scotia, says.

"The increased handling fees balance the financial needs of the Enviro-Depot operators with those of our other environmental partners who depend on fair and consistent funding," adds Firth.

Money to pay for the increased fees will be diverted from RRFB Nova Scotia's other mandates, with 50 percent coming from municipal diversion programs, 10 percent from revenues to cover Provincial solid-waste resource management and 40 percent from environmental education and public awareness and value-added small business initiatives.

RRFB Nova Scotia funds a range of programs, including municipal composting and recycling programs, environmental stewardship and value-added initiatives.