March 8, 2009
Quebec mulls scrapping can deposits, but detractors warn of environmental impact
MONTREAL — The push is on to drastically change how Quebecers dispose of their pop and beer cans but experts warn deviating from the province's 25-year-old deposit system could have a considerable environmental impact.
The Quebec government is currently mulling its next long-term environment plan and is under pressure to address the province's return-to-retail system when it comes to bottles, pop and beer cans.
According to industry estimates, about 1.3 billion non-refillable canned beverages are consumed in Quebec each year - including pop and beer. The recovery rate hovers around 70 per cent, below the intended target of 80 per cent.
More than 400 million cans - worth around $20 million in deposits - don't make it back to stores for recycling.
While some of those cans might end up in the recycling bin at home, the retail industry says the recovery numbers show it's time to eliminate the deposit system and put the emphasis on curbside recycling.
Most provinces in Canada have deposit-refund systems in place for alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverage containers of varying materials, ranging in deposits from five to 40 cents.
Only Quebec, Manitoba (beer only) and Ontario (wine, beer and alcohol) have more limited programs.
Quebec's beverage container recovery system began in 1984 and lets consumers make returns at grocery and some convenience stores. But store owners have been lobbying to have the machines removed because they say the system is costly, outdated and time-consuming.
Pierre-Alexandre Blouin of the Quebec Food Retailers' Association said the deposit system and blue box recycling are essentially working at cross purposes.
Blouin said his organization believes the government should stick with one system - namely curbside recycling, which is available in most Quebec towns and is financed by industry and municipalities.
"Here in Quebec, the entire system falls on our (grocery stores) shoulders - even if everyone, department stores, restaurants, pharmacies - all sell the products," Blouin said, adding retailers get about two cents per returned unit.
A provincial commission that heard recommendations last year agreed: a single system based on the province's recycling system would make more sense with the proper infrastructure in place.
"What we're asking the government is to take that recommendation into consideration," said Frederic Alberro, Quebec vice-president of the Canadian Council of Grocery Distributors.
The retailers' griping doesn't surprise Clarissa Morawski one bit.
Morawski, an Ontario-based consultant who specializes in waste-minimization policy with an emphasis on beverage containers, said retailers are usually the most vocal opponents to deposit systems because they don't want the added responsibility.
But she warns that doing away with the deposit system could have dire effects on the recovery rates, which would lead to more litter, less recycling and heavy environmental impact.
The cost of creating a recycling system to rival the deposit system would be astronomical and be an unlikely investment given the economic turmoil, Morawski said.
Instead, Morawski suggests it might be time to widen the deposit system in Quebec to include plastic water bottles and raise the current five-cent deposit to a dime.
"The Quebec retail infrastructure is already set up to take plastic bottles anyway," she said, referring to stores equipped with what are known as reverse vending machines.
"You'll see a significant reduction of litter and a dramatic increase in recycling of water bottles, which is currently quite low."
Edouard Darche, president of Boissons Gazeuses Environnement, a non-profit organization created by the soft-drink industry, said part of the problem lies in a lack of infrastructure.
"What has changed on the market place is people consume soft drinks more and more outside the home and in public spaces," Darche said.
"When people consume at home, they recover about 80 to 90 per cent of what they consume ... but the problem is when you leave the room."
More people are consuming in places like parks, public spaces and at the gym.
Along with Recyc-Quebec, a Crown corporation, Darche's group launched a marketing campaign in January to offer free boxes at the workplace to try to get Quebecers to stop chucking their cans in the trash.
Darche said nearly 3,000 organizations and businesses have already signed up.
Retailers say the success of the current deposit system lies squarely on their shoulders.
Blouin of the Quebec Food Retailers' Association says while the group doesn't intend to shirk its responsibilities to society, "we can't pick up everything.... It's ridiculous.
"Our job is to sell food. If we're going to become recycling centres too, then it's going to take some pretty huge stores."
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