Environmental tax -- oops I mean "fee"

Whenever you buy certain electronic items, you pay a fee which goes to some organization which allegedly uses the money to "properly dispose of" these items. But REMEMBER: this is not a tax. Nothing to see here, just move along. Their website continuously repeats that this "fee" is not a "tax". I'm sure there is some technical explanation for why this is not the case, but either way it doesn't matter what they call this thing when I am forced to pay anywhere from $1 to $36 on top of the purchase price for an item.

Well, at least I can feel better because the organization reassures us that this fee is used 100% toward properly disposing of the item.

From the website:

Paid at the time of purchase, the fee reflects the true cost to collect, transport and responsibly recycle each item at the end of its useful life.

Alright, so they collect millions of dollars and they spend it all. That's reassuring!

But today a report came out showing this organization actually had a surplus of $850,000. Think about that for a second. A government initiative with a SURPLUS. What bozo was so stupid he couldn't think of any possible way to spend that money. I've seen firsthand the astronomical waste in government departments. If this person had any sense whatsoever, he would have used the money to build an amazing employee lounge with a massive tv, maybe a pool table, and possible hire a dozen of his buddies to work for the operation.

Obviously he wasn't thinking enough like a government worker.

Oops, what I meant to say was I AM GLAD THE GOVERNMENT IS CHARGING THIS BECAUSE I LOVE THE ENVIRONMENT.