The city's environmental reporting and disclosure bylaw came into effect this year after being introduced at the end of 2008. Businesses in several sectors, including the printing and publishing industries, must meet the first online reporting deadline of June 30, 2011.

 
Printers who missed out on initial education sessions about the bylaw can attend upcoming seminars specific to the industry. Those workshops are scheduled for May 12 from 9 a.m. to noon in Etobicoke; May 13 from 6:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. in Scarborough; and June 22 from 9 a.m. to noon at the latter location. Exact locations can be found by emailing chemtracvisit@partnersinprojectgreen.com or by calling 416-661-6600 ext.5595.
 

"We knew that this was going to be an adjustment for businesses, and we wanted to help them along," said Rich Whate, a Toronto Public Health spokesperson. "There was gap of a year we spent educating [about the bylaw]."

 

The online reporting system is at toronto.ca/chemtrac and that businesses can go on now and report in bits, or they can do it all at once before the deadline, said Whate.

 

The penalty for non-compliance is substantial: $5,000 for a first offense, $25,000 for a second and $100,000 for a third, he said. 

  

The City of Toronto is the first municipality in Canada to introduce this bylaw, he said.