Groups Mark Ontario Day of Action on Litter, Urge Expansion of Deposit Return in Ontario to Prevent Plastic Bottle Pollution

Kayakers with boatloads of bottle litter illustrate the need for better pollution prevention

Toronto | Treaty Lands and Territory of the Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation, and the traditional territory of the Anishinaabeg, the Haudenosaunee, and the Wendat – Environmental Defence Canada and Don’t Mess with the Don marked Ontario’s Day of Action on Litter at Toronto’s Biidaasige Park at the mouth of the Don River, with kayakers collecting debris along the shoreline and in the water.

“Plastic bottles are among the top three items we collect in our cleanups along the Don,” said Don’t Mess with the Don’s Lawrence Warriner. “They’re a real menace to wildlife and disrupt everyone’s enjoyment of this important urban waterway. It’s frustrating because we know there’s a good solution to all this beverage container litter—and that is to include them in Ontario’s deposit-return program.”

“Expanding deposit return is the popular, common sense solution to preventing litter from beverage containers,” said Karen Wirsig, Senior Program Manager for Plastics at Environmental Defence. “It’s sad that we’re marking yet another Day of Action on Litter in this province without an expanded deposit-return program that includes all beverage containers.”

PHOTOS from the clean up on the Don River are available here. Photo credit: Lav Kanth.

BACKGROUND:

  • New polling reveals that an overwhelming majority of people across Ontario, nearly 80 per cent, continue to support expansion of deposit return to include all beverage containers.
  • A recent survey of litter data from around the world confirms that jurisdictions with comprehensive deposit-return programs for beverage containers enjoy much less litter from empties. Ireland saw a decrease of 20 per cent in plastic bottle litter in only three months after deposit-return was introduced in 2024.
  • Plastic beverage bottles are one of the top three littered items collected in Don’t Mess with the Don’s litter cleanups. The group has collected nearly 16,000 kilograms of litter in the Don River so far this year.
  • Beverage containers are much more likely to get collected and recycled or refilled if they’re in a deposit-return program than in a curbside recycling program, which does not cover beverages consumed in parks or commercial spaces. Empties covered by deposit-return are also more likely to stay out of the garbage and the natural environment.

ABOUT ENVIRONMENTAL DEFENCE (environmentaldefence.ca): Environmental Defence is a leading Canadian environmental advocacy organization that works with government, industry and individuals to defend clean water, a safe climate and healthy communities.

DON’T MESS WITH THE DON is an award-winning environmental grassroots Canadian charity that delivers community programming igniting people’s passion for stewarding our planet.

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For more information or to request an interview, please contact:

Mira Merchant, Environmental Defence, media@environmentaldefence.ca