I went to Canadian Tire this weekend and bought two items. One of those items was a 4L jug of motor oil. I noticed that when the cashier rung up my two items, I was actually charged for three. I paid the bill and then looked closely at the receipt.

Sure enough I was charged an extra twenty cents for no reason. I asked the cashier what that extra charge was for. She said it was an environmental charge. I wanted further information and there was only one other person in line behind me so I asked what it was all about.

The customer behind me told me that there is now an extra charge for all motor oil commercially sold. He also said that you could actually claim this expense on your taxes if you use a lot of oil.

When I got home, I checked online to see what I could find out about this charge. This is what I found;

“Role: The consumer is responsible for bringing the used oil to the retailer or the designated collection site. They may not be charged a fee at the point of return; however they may be charged an environmental handling charge at the point of purchase of new oil.”

– from http://www.ec.gc.ca/epr/default.asp?lang=En&n=8E65257D-1

I would like to know why this cost is passed on to the consumer. I don’t change my own oil. I don’t know a lot of people who do. And even if I did, there are places to dispose of the oil safely already.

We don’t need this cost passed on to the consumer. Oil change centres, motor oil companies, and packaging companies should be flipping this bill.

I don’t even know if this charge is necessary. It doesn’t sound like this program is going to help the environment at all. It’s just another way to squeeze the consumer. I’m getting tired of all these extra charges. I’ve been squeezed enough.