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Esso, Ontario Environment Ministry and Clean Air Foundation join forces to send old cars to "Heaven"
| Toronto, ON, May 30, 2001
| IHigh-polluting "old clunkers" should be disappearing from Ontario roads at a faster rate than ever this summer, under a new initiative announced today between Imperial Oil, the Ontario Ministry of the Environment and the not-for-profit Clean Air Foundation.
The Clean Air Foundation, an organization dedicated to engaging the public through programs aimed at improving air quality, runs an accelerated vehicle retirement program called Car Heaven, designed to get older, high-polluting cars off the road. In cooperation with the Ontario Automotive Recyclers Association, Car Heaven offers free towing (typically a $200 value) and a charitable receipt for the value of the retired vehicle, worth a minimum of $60. Those using the program this summer will be entered into a draw to win a new gasoline-electric hybrid Toyota Prius automobile.
Under Imperial Oil sponsorship, including a donation of $65,000, teams of Car Heaven Angels will visit about 200 Esso service stations during the first half of June. In addition to the GTA, they will visit 19 cities including Mississauga, Ajax-Pickering, Brampton, Burlington, Richmond Hill, Newmarket, Oshawa, Markham, Hamilton, St. Catherines, Guelph, Kitchener-Waterloo, London, Sarnia, Kingston, Cornwall, Ottawa, Grimsby, Niagara Falls, Brockville, Oakville, Peterborough, Barrie and Cambridge. They will be handing out literature on the Car Heaven program along with tips on how energy can be used more wisely and efficiently.
The objective of the program is to help reduce smog-forming vehicle emissions in Ontario, said Ian Morton, executive director of the Clean Air Foundation. "Since its launch, the Car Heaven program has eliminated 17 tons of nitrogen oxides and 11 tons of volatile organic compounds, both major components of smog, along with 226 tons of carbon monoxide," Morton said. "The new association with Imperial Oil is an aggressive expansion of the program."
"Air emissions from the transportation sector are a significant contributor to smog in Ontario, especially in urban areas," said Environment Minister Elizabeth Witmer. "Helping drivers reduce pollution from their cars will have a significant impact on the environment." The Ministry of the Environment donated $80,000 to the Car Heaven program.
Brian Fischer, senior vice-president, products and chemicals with Imperial Oil, said the company shares the concern that all Canadians have for the environment, and especially for reducing smog. "We strongly support and encourage our customers to use our products wisely and efficiently," Fischer said. "It's sound economic sense for our customers as well as responsible common sense."
Fischer noted that low-volatility summer gasolines and vapor-recovery systems in gasoline distribution networks have reduced evaporative emissions that contribute to smog formation, while advances in vehicle technologies and improved fuels have also reduced exhaust emissions. "A new car today captures 97 percent of the emissions released by a 1980 model," he said. "New standards for 2004-model-year cars and SUVs, combined with our improved fuels, will remove more than 90 percent of the remaining emissions."
For more information, please call Car Heaven at 1-888-731-7311 or go to carheaven.ca
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