August 13, 2009
Raise drink container deposits to boost recycling: Metro
Most non-alcoholic beverage containers fetch just a five-cent refund. Metro Vancouver says that should be raised to foster more recycling.
The nickel and dime refunds paid out when beverage containers are returned are no longer enough to maximize recycling, Metro Vancouver directors say.
They're calling on the province to jack up the deposits charged on drink bottles and cans to ensure more of them are brought back and don't end up as litter or in landfills.
"We want increased recycling," said Metro Vancouver waste management committee chair Marvin Hunt.
Raising the refunds on deposit containers will help, he said.
Five cents is now paid for most non-alcoholic beverage containers, while alcoholic bottles and cans are worth 10 cents. Twenty cents is paid for containers of either type that are larger than one litre.
Hunt said the deposits and refunds have been unchanged for at least a dozen years despite inflation.
"It just hasn't stayed in the economic ball game," he said.
The Metro Vancouver board, which has passed a resolution urging the increase, isn't taking a position on how high the deposits should go.
"That's a calculation the provincial government needs to do," Hunt said.
An increase in the deposits and refunds would cheer binners across B.C., although it may also make the containers harder to find.
Encorp Pacific, the non-profit agency that manages the deposit-refund system, isn't convinced it's a good idea.
Spokesman Malcolm Harvey said beverage container recycling is already doing well and there's little evidence raising deposits would yield gains.
He said 77.1 per cent of all beverage containers sold in B.C. last year were recovered for recycling, beating the government-set target of 75 per cent.
"It's difficult to see how doubling the deposit rate is justifiable," Harvey said. "Why would you ask more of people if you are already doing a good job?"
He noted 81.5 per cent of aluminum soft drink cans are recovered – despite having just a nickel deposit.
"Increasing the deposit is not going to guarantee you a better recovery rate," Harvey said. "It's not a slam dunk."
Alberta recently raised its recycling deposits and now offers at least 10 cents for all containers.
Unreturned beverage containers make up an estimated one per cent of the waste stream going to Metro Vancouver landfills.
Metro Vancouver also wants more types of containers covered by deposits.
Right now, tetra paks that contain juice are subject to a five-cent deposit but identical tetra paks that hold soup have no deposit on them because the recycling rules apply only to ready-to-consume beverages.
"Why is there this inconsistency?" Hunt asked. "It doesn't make any sense at all."
Metro also wants plastic milk containers to have a deposit added to encourage recycling.
Hunt has fielded complaints from citizens who say some non-Encorp recycling depots trash containers that don't fetch a refund.
"It's a legitimate concern that the province should be addressing," he said.
The B.C. Bottle Depot Association (BCBDA), which represents a third of depots not under Encorp, is also pressing for higher deposits and expansion of the containers covered.
The association has frequently locked horns with Encorp and says many depots, particularly in rural areas, have been hard hit by falling recyclable prices and are struggling to keep afloat.
Encorp gets to keep the unredeemed deposits consumers pay at the time of purchase and has little incentive to improve recycling rates, the BCBDA says.
The more than 300 million containers that aren't turned in each year saves Encorp $17 million a year in refunds that don't need to be paid, and it also avoids the cost of recycling them.
The BCBDA contends that money should go to sustain depots in underserved communities and that Encorp be replaced by a new administrative body.
Hunt said Metro isn't getting involved in the dispute, but would like to see Victoria mediate.
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