Container and Packaging Recycling Update - Volume XV No. 1 - Spring 2007
Ontario: Deposits required on
beer, wine and spirit containers
by Usman Valiante
As of February 5th 2007 all 2.4 billion wine, spirits and beer containers sold in Ontario, Canada bear a deposit that is refunded when returned to The Beer Store for reuse or recycling. Previously only beer containers sold at The Beer Store required deposits. The new program adds approximately 360 million wine and spirits containers sold by the Liquor Control Board of Ontario (LCBO) and private wine retailers into the existing Beer Store return system.
The system includes recovery and recycling of glass bottles, aluminum cans, plastic bottles and aseptic and bag-in-box cartons. Plastic bags, cardboard and boxboard boxes, bottle caps, and can-rings, are also accepted by The Beer Store for recycling.
The program has had a highly successful launch with a number of municipalities reporting sharp drops in liquor containers in their curbside recycling programs and The Beer Store reporting a high return of containers. While documented return rate data is not yet available, many areas of Ontario are seeing higher than expected returns.
The program is expected to recover about 85% of the estimated 125,000 metric tonnes of wine and spirits containers and associated packaging generated in Ontario. The objective of the program is to increase the overall recovery rate of LCBO packaging from about 65% to 85% while improving the recycling rate of what is collected from 30% to 85%.
Recycling glass packaging has been less than successful through curbside programs, as much of the glass collected cannot be effectively recycled due to breakage, and contamination. Similarly, recovery and recycling of aseptic cartons is only about 13% through Ontario curbside collection programs.
Valiante is a Senior Policy Analyst with Corporate Policy Group LLP
valiante@corporatepolicygroup.com
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