Environment Minister John Gerretsen says producers must be responsible for diverting potentially hazardous materials from landfills. (Canadian Press)

Ontario Environment Minister John Gerretsen is confirming that the province's controversial eco fees will never return.

"Eco fees are not returning," Gerretsen told CBC's Metro Morning on Wednesday. "They are gone for good."

Gerretsen had said Tuesday that the province was halting the program in response to public outrage over how the fees were introduced. He said then that the province would take three months to re-evaluate the program, but did not specifically say if consumers could end up paying eco fees down the road.

The fees, which went into effect July 1, were imposed on manufacturers and retailers to help fund a recycling program that diverts potentially hazardous items from landfills.

Stewardship Ontario, an industry-led organization appointed by the government to oversee the program, collected the fees from retailers and manufacturers. Retailers were allowed to pass the cost on to consumers — and many did.

Gerretsen suggested that the Liberal government expects producers to bear the responsibility of diverting hazardous materials.

"When you look at Europe, when you look at many of the other Canadian jurisdictions, they have adopted the principle of producer responsibility," he said. "That basically means that if you make a product, you are responsible — if there are toxic components, hazardous components to it — [for] dealing with the after-effects of that product."

Currently, Ontario taxpayers will foot the $5-million bill to keep the program running while it is being re-evaluated.