April 9, 2008
Winsloe firm wins can return contract
WAYNE THIBODEAU
Prince Edward Island has moved a step closer to ending its more than 20-year ban on canned pop by awarding the contract for collecting and processing cans and plastic bottles.
Label Construction and Sanitation of Winsloe won the contract. It will manage the overall deposit and return system through a series of 10 locally owned depots.
Environment Minister George Webster says legislative changes to allow for canned pop and beer will be brought into the legislature next week. He said everything should be in place next month.
“The beverage container system should be ready to go on May 3,” Webster told The Guardian Tuesday.
Canned pop has not been sold on the Island since March 1, 1984. The drought for canned beer has been much longer. Canned beer has not been sold on the Island since July 1, 1973.
There has been a slight delay in the introduction of cans and plastic bottles.
The province had planned for the launch on May 1. That has been pushed back to Saturday, May 3, at the request of retailers.
That’s the start-date for most sales flyers and the start of the new retail week for most major retailers.
“That’s the date that we anticipate everything happening, barring anything unforeseen,” Webster said.
Islanders will pay a 10-cent deposit and handling fee when they buy their beverage, and get five cents back when they take the empty to one of 10 depots across P.E.I.
On Tuesday, The Pepsi Bottling Group announced that popular Seaman’s brands including old-fashioned orange, cream soda, lime rickey and ginger ale will be bottled in 355-ml cans as well as two litre and 591-ml plastic bottles.
There was some doubt about the future of the P.E.I. brand once the province announced the introduction of cans and plastic bottles.
The pop, while sporting the logo of Prince Edward Island’s soft drink, will actually be produced in Moncton.
Webster said the introduction of canned pop and beer has been more complicated than he ever anticipated.
“We think we have a good program now and hopefully there won’t be too many glitches on start up and it will all fall in place quite nicely.”
http://www.theguardian.pe.ca/index.cfm?sid=124677&sc=98
