Statement by Karen Wirsig, Senior Program Manager, Plastics

Toronto | Traditional territories of the Mississaugas of the Credit, the Anishinaabeg, the Haudenosaunee, and the Wendat – We are pleased to learn, one year after the expansion of alcohol sales in grocery and convenience stores went into effect, that the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario is enforcing the requirement for certain grocery stores to accept empties as part of the deposit-return program for alcoholic beverages. This is essential for saving the program.

The Ontario deposit-return program (ODRP) is hugely successful at enabling refill and recycling of beer containers, and recycling of glass bottles for wine and spirits. Unfortunately, due to the closure of Beer Store locations—which have served as return locations for alcohol empties since the program was established in 2007—the ODRP was at risk of collapse. The convenient and popular program has kept millions of glass, metal and plastic containers out of landfills, incinerators and the natural environment.

By the end of the year, The Beer Store will have closed some 100 locations. The grocery retailers whose licenses to sell ready-to-drink alcohol currently require them to accept empties have been slow to meet that condition. That means people in Ontario are losing access to return points. Government enforcement of the grocery obligations will be welcome news to those people who pay deposits when they buy alcoholic beverages but can’t easily return the empties to redeem their deposits.

What’s more, grocery retailers who accept empties could help build out Ontario’s deposit-return system to include non-alcoholic beverages, making it more efficient and allowing for improved recycling rates for non-alcoholic beverage containers. Ontario is one of only two provinces in the country that does not have a program for most beverages. As a result, we estimate that some 1.7 billion plastic containers for drinks like water, pop and juice end up in the garbage or the environment every year in Ontario. This has to stop.

This is an ideal moment to expand the deposit-return system to include both alcoholic and non-alcoholic empties and the government must lead the way on saving and expanding deposit return.

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.

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

Midhat Moini, Environmental Defence, media@environmentaldefence.ca