February 5, 2008

The Guardian

Firm sought to run return system
P.E.I. government issues request for expressions of interest
WAYNE THIBODEAU

The P.E.I. government is looking for a company to operate the beverage container return system as the province moves one step closer to bringing canned pop and beer to the Island.

The new Liberal government wants canned pop and beer in stores by May 1. It has now issued a request for expressions of interest to operate the new beverage container return system.

Companies have until Feb. 20 to submit a proposal. The successful proponent will be announced March 6.

Don Jardine, director of pollution prevention with the Department of Environment, says the Island received pressure from neighbouring provinces to have a beverage container return system similar to their provinces.

“We had to harmonize with our neighbours in New Brunswick and Nova Scotia,” Jardine said, in an interview with The Guardian. “If you don’t, you can see what happens. Some of the containers would go to other provinces. A lot of our containers have been going to the mainland. We’ve gotten complaints from our sister provinces about that.”

About 17 million soft drinks are currently sold in P.E.I. That figure doesn’t include bottled water and juices. The number is expected to explode once the province opens the door to canned pop and beer, plastic bottles of pop and other containers now restricted for sale on the Island.

The expression of interest obtained by The Guardian says the province is expecting about 49 million recyclable containers will be distributed in P.E.I. annually.

Each man, woman and child in P.E.I. is expected to use 361 beverage containers annually.  

The report says it is the hope of the province that 70-90 per cent will be redeemed.

“We think our numbers could be a little higher because we think, on a percentage basis, we get more tourists in the summer,” he said. “There’s probably going to be a bit of a novelty period here where people will say ‘I’m going to have a can of pop. I haven’t been able to buy one here for 30 years’.”

Jardine is hopeful that with a new deposit system in place there will be less litter — not more.

The system will be the same as neighbouring provinces. There will be a 10-cent deposit charged on beverages. Five cents will be returned to the consumer once the container is redeemed. The remaining five cents will be used to operate the new system.

If somebody doesn’t want to bother returning the container, they can continue to put them in their blue bags.

In New Brunswick about 72 per cent of their containers are recycled. That figure is higher in Nova Scotia where 78 per cent is recycled.

“We’re thinking it will actually improve the situation with litter,” Jardine said. “You take your plastic water bottle now. There’s no refund on that in P.E.I.” 

The successful bidder will operate the beverage container return system but existing bottle depots will still play a vital role. That’s where people will drop off their cans and plastic bottles.

Jardine said the province sees a need for additional depots. There are now seven licensed depots on the Island. The report says there may be a need for up to five more, bringing the total to 12.

“It is expected that two additional year-round depots will be needed in Kings County, and possibly one in Prince County,” the expression of interest says. “There may also be a need for one seasonal centre on the north shore of Queens County during the tourist season.”

http://www.theguardian.pe.ca/index.cfm?sid=105278&sc=98