Product stewardship: Ontario Ministry of Environment sees brewers use of refillables as model

Last year Ontario's brewers kept 1.7 billion beer bottles out of the waste stream. The brewing industry's use of refillables diverted over 400,000 tons of glass from landfills and greatly reduced consumption of resources and pollution. These savings are a result of the bottles being reused an average of 14 times before they are finally recycled.

The Ministry of the Environment's 1998 Annual Report recognized the Ontario brewers' high level of packaging recovery (98 percent) as a leading model of cost-effective, environmentally sustainable product stewardship. The high recovery rate is achieved through a voluntary deposit system and 92 percent of sales in refillable containers.

The Environmental Commissioner for the provincial Ministry of the Environment has recommended that Ontario's manufacturers and brand owners take greater responsibility for the management of the waste associated with their products. The brewing industry has offered to share their experience with product stewardship with the provincial government.

According to C.J. Helie, VP Corporate Affairs of The Brewers of Ontario, the brewing industry's provincial trade association, "Ontario's brewers are willing to share their expertise, garnered from operating one of the world's largest private sector consumer packaging management systems, to help the Ministry of the Environment design and implement an effective product stewardship plan for the alcohol beverage sector.

The Beer Store, owned and operated by Ontario's brewers, is the primary retail and distribution sales channel for beer sold in the province. According to Helie, there are 430 retail Beer Stores offering more than 220 brands of beer. The retail stores and distribution centers also service 600 liquor stores and 17,000 licensed bars and restaurants.

"Ontario's brewers," said Helie, "remain committed to their 1991 promise to recover for reuse or recycling 100 percent of all beer related consumer packaging at no cost to taxpayers.