Ont. town mayor adds wrinkle to clothesline debate

Last Updated: Friday, May 25, 2007 | 3:06 PM ET

CBC News

Could the simple laundry line, pegged by some as an energy-saving device but as an eyesore by others, be classified as a technology or service?

Phyllis Morris, the mayor of Aurora, is pushing the Ontario government to consider this question. Morris says the designation would allow her constituents to override subdivision property agreements that prevent homeowners from hanging their laundry out to dry.

'All you'd see is laundry — if everybody had one across here, that's all you would see.'—Will Cordingley, Aurora resident

"They could designate the humble clothesline as a good, a service or a technology," Morris said, noting that the Energy Conservation Leadership Act allows the government to help remove barriers that block energy conservation.

"Once they do, that would rescind all of those sidebar agreements that developers have struck with homeowners," she said.

Morris, who launched her Right to Dry campaign last August, says the government should consider the energy savings that clotheslines offer as the province faces an electricity shortage and smog-filled summer. The Conservation Council of Ontario and the World Wildlife Fund of Canada have both endorsed the Aurora campaign.

The Ontario Ministry of the Environment says that a standard clothes dryer consumes 900 kWh of energy per year, creating up to 840 kg of air pollution and greenhouse gases.

Ontario Energy Minister Dwight Duncan was not available to comment, but a spokesman said Aurora is the only municipality to have issued a formal complaint.

The Ontario Ministry of the Environment says that a standard clothes dryer consumes 900 kWh of energy per year, creating up to 840 kg of air pollution and greenhouse gases.
(Alex Brandon/Associated Press)

John Camplin, who lives in Aurora, says he might consider using a clothesline, but the purchase agreement he signed with the developer of his subdivision restricts him from hanging his laundry outside.

"I think it's a bit silly. I mean I can't see how it would be offensive to anyone," he said.

But others, including Aurora resident Will Cordingley, say the clotheslines could become unsightly.

"All you'd see is laundry — if everybody had one across here, that's all you would see," he said.