Report shows an expansion of The Beer Store deposit system with retail and depot collection is the most cost-effective way to reach 90% beverage container recovery in Ontario

A report released by the Canadian Beverage Association (CBA) and researched and written by Eunomia Research & Consulting Inc. finds that the most effective way for Ontario to achieve a 90% recovery rate for beverage containers is by expanding the province’s existing deposit system operated by The Beer Store by providing Ontarians with more retail and depot locations to take back bottles and cans to receive a 10-cent refund for each container.

All Canadian provinces except Ontario and Manitoba have a deposit-return system (DRS) for non-alcoholic beverage containers. Without a beverage container recycling program, Ontario maintains the country’s lowest non-alcoholic beverage container recovery rate for non-alcoholic beverage containers – which is stalled at 51%, according to the latest estimate provided by Circular Materials. Provinces with DRS programs, like British Columbia and Alberta, have recovery rates ranging from 77% to 85%, along with high levels of consumer support.

“Recent polling shows that more than 80% of Ontarians want a deposit system for both alcohol and non-alcoholic beverage containers,” said Krista Scaldwell, CBA President. “Ontario can no longer remain an outlier in Canada with half of the non-alcoholic beverage containers sold in the province each year not being collected for recycling, going to landfill or being littered in the environment. The Government of Ontario must seize the opportunity to expand the existing deposit system for beer, wine and liquor to include soft drinks and other non-alcoholic beverages to keep these containers out of the environment and divert them from landfills to recycling facilities.”

The CBA commissioned Eunomia to prepare a research report and a DRS modelling study to identify a DRS model that is cost-effective, convenient for consumers and high-performing. The goal of implementing a DRS is to achieve high recycling rates, keep litter out of the environment and ensure more recyclable material is reincorporated into new beverage bottles, cans and cartons as recycled content.

The report’s findings show that leveraging The Beer Store’s collection system and having grocery stores and other retail locations take back empty beverage containers will create a system that can achieve a recovery rate of 89% and provide a collection location for roughly every 1,600 Ontarians. This system would also include limited depot collection in high-volume locations. The net-cost of this system would be $190 million and would be funded through producer fees.

The Government of Ontario concluded the Early Implementation Agreement with The Beer Store on March 28, 2024. That agreement continues the existing deposit system for alcohol containers and creates a new obligation for retail locations that are more than 4,000 square feet to collect empty alcohol containers if there is no Beer Store within five kilometres. A revised Ontario Deposit Return Agreement (ODRP) must be concluded by Oct. 1, 2024.

“As more reverse vending machines are installed to take back alcohol containers at retail locations this fall, those same machines can be used to take back non-alcoholic beverage containers,” said Sarah Edwards, President, Eunomia North America. “Our modelling shows that leveraging both The Beer Store deposit system, along with return-to-retail collection, will establish the greatest convenience for consumers and allow Ontario to lift its recovery rate from where it is today at roughly 50% to 90%.”

Read the report HERE. 

SOURCE: CNW / Canadian Beverage Association (Press Release)
PHOTO CREDIT: Canadian Beverage Association