A plan to make businesses pay the cost of disposing their paper and packaging is on hold for a year and may not happen.

The idea is known as extended producer responsibility (EPR) and it already exists in Nova Scotia, in a fee added to the price of consumer electronics to cover its eventual disposal costs.

Last year, a discussion paper released by the province looked at implementing EPR on things like paper and packaging. It said EPR could happen as early as this fall.

The Ecology Action Centre's Mark Butler says the announcement that the idea is on hold sounds more like it is being scrapped. (CBC) Environment Minister Andrew Younger says there's no consensus on how to implement the new environmental fee.

"The consultation that we've just gone through has shown that there's a lot of questions that still remain to be answered. I'm not satisfied that we have those answers yet or are in a position to either say yes or no," he said.

Fee controversial

The Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB) is against EPR and calls it a tax and red tape. It lobbied the government on the matter and is pleased with the news.

Environmentalists don't share that enthusiasm.

"The announcement itself — on pause for a year — that sounds more like killing the whole thing than putting it on pause," said Mark Butler, policy director at the Ecology Action Centre.

Butler says the thinking behind EPR is that the polluter pays, meaning whether one makes or uses a product, they should take some responsibility for its disposal.

Younger is in no rush to make a decision about EPR.

"This isn't at the top of the priority list," he said.