The Globe and Mail reports in its Friday edition that Ontario Environment Minister David Piccini has pulled plans to introduce legislation to block a beverage industry group from imposing tax-like recycling fees on non-alcoholic drink containers sold in the province, after receiving assurances the levies would not be tacked onto customer receipts. The Globe's Jeff Gray writes that the minister had last month condemned industry plans to impose fees of up to three cents for each can, bottle and drink box to cover some of the costs of recycling, starting June 1 -- and he warned he could block them. The conflict is the latest wrinkle as the province moves to a new "extended producer responsibility" recycling system meant to be designed, run and paid for by the private sector -- but with more ambitious targets set by the government. Unnamed sources say Mr. Piccini agreed not to bring in new legislation, after assurances that the beverage-container fees would not be passed onto customers as visible add-ons on their receipts. Sources also say the government has left the door open to scrapping this plan and replacing it with a deposit-return system, as is common elsewhere and in use in Ontario for alcoholic beverages.