[caption id="attachment_1219" align="alignleft" width="150" caption="This lady just found out about the eco fee"] [/caption] Residents of Ontario were shocked today to learn about a the new eco fee, an amount of money added to the purchase of certain products to supplement a recycling program for hazardous waste. Many manufacturers were given the option to foot the bill for this recycling program, called Orange Drop, but have instead decided to offload the coast on its customers. Stewardship Ontario is overseeing this eco fee program. The most bizarre thing about this program is how quiet the government and Stewardship Ontario has been about it. Unlike our preparedness for the new HST, the eco fee has come as a shock to most - and plenty of folk are not happy about it. However, the fee is being implemented on many products that are hard to recycle, such as aerosol cans, fertilizers, paints, oil filters and corrosives, so maybe a fee should be charged to assist a program that ensures proper recycling of hazardous materials. Have you heard of the eco fee? How do you feel about it.