In a province hungry for jobs, it’s disturbing to discover that the government-mandated organization charged with monitoring Ontario recycling programs is considering a plan that could kill a thriving — and local — battery recycling company.

Waste Diversion Ontario’s decision could ultimately wipe out 47 jobs at the Niagara Region’s Raw Materials Co. — the only Ontario business that meets lofty provincial recycling standards for the single-use batteries used in such things as toys and TV remote controls. Talk about market intervention.

Environment Minister Jim Bradley must scrutinize Waste Diversion Ontario’s decision to ensure that it follows government rules that require new recycling programs to have a “fair” impact on the marketplace and meet or exceed current recycling objectives. Precious jobs and environmental principles are at stake.

Despite the fact that Raw Materials Co. inspired Ontario’s recycling standards by turning some 80 to 92 per cent of single-use batteries into re-usable materials such as steel and fertilizer, its future is inexplicably at risk.

That’s because a company representing battery producers like Duracell and Energizer is making its third attempt to take over Ontario’s collection programs. Called Call2Reycle, it’s asking Waste Diversion Ontario to approve a plan allowing it to manage battery collections (despite previous criticism for low collection rates) and run the process that chooses the recycling processor.

So, who cares about a bunch of old batteries? Many groups, including those focused on green technology, fear this decision will lead to negative outcomes for business and recycling.

First, Raw Materials, a company located in the economically depressed town of Port Colborne, may well go under if Call2Recycle awards the job of processing old batteries to an American smelter it has used for many years. President James Ewles says flatly: “That would put us out of business.”

And second, Ontario’s lofty environmental standards for battery recycling may be compromised because of concerns that the smelter, located in Pennsylvania, turns a portion of the batteries into slag, often used as a filler for roads, which many environmentalists consider waste because it cannot be re-used.

That’s why the decision by Waste Diversion Ontario must be watched closely, especially by Ontario’s self-proclaimed “Jobs Premier,” Kathleen Wynne.

After all, Raw Materials is a home-grown success story, considered a “world class” recycler because up to 92 per cent of its batteries are turned into re-usable materials such as steel and fertilizer. The remaining paper and plastic is sent to a New York energy-from-waste facility.

It has recycled batteries for 20 years but since 2011 the company invested some $3 million into recycling technology and its 3,574 battery collection sites. They are located in stores, municipal government offices or run through charities, which get money in return.

At a time when too many Ontarians are forced into precarious work, the company has an annual payroll of $2 million for 47 workers, providing basic decent jobs that help people buy a home and raise kids. It’s strange then, that the government would allow a largely unaccountable organization like Waste Diversion Ontario to put these jobs at risk.

If Call2Recycle’s proposal is accepted, its spokesperson Joe Zenobio promises that its request for proposals for the recycling contract would be “fair, open and transparent.” But James Ewles of Raw Materials believes that Call2Recycle’s long-term relationship with the Pennsylvania-based processor, and the expectation of cheaper costs, will ensure it wins the bid.

Let’s be clear: in a competitive marketplace there’s nothing wrong with Call2Recycle’s attempt to expand its services.

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What’s questionable — beyond job losses and doubts about environmental standards — is the fact that Waste Diversion Ontario is actively considering the proposal even though the Liberal government’s proposed Waste Reduction Act, Bill 91, with progressive new recycling standards, is still before the legislature at Queen’s Park. What’s the rush?

If the decision is approved, and a local success story faces closure, there will be a lot of explaining to do. Ontario’s government-mandated organizations should not have the power to destroy home-grown entrepreneurialism and the jobs it creates.