Editorial

A better way to keep recyclables out of the landfill

It was good to hear Quebec's environment minister dispel rumours that the provincial government is on the verge of abandoning the deposit-return system it currently has for certain beverage containers.

But Pierre Arcand could have done a lot better than he did at a recent press conference at which he said the government is merely studying whether curbside recycling or deposit-return is more effective at keeping recyclables out of garbage dumps.

He said that as far as he can see the two systems will be used in parallel for a long time to come. And so they should. But what should also be done is to expand the deposit-return system, which has proven itself considerably more effective than curbside recycling at keeping beverage containers from becoming pollutants.

For starters, the deposit price of five cents for soft-drink cans and 10 cents for beer bottles, which has been in place since the Quebec system was introduced more than a quarter of a century ago, should be raised to give consumers greater incentive to return their containers for refund.

Another measure that cries for implementation is to add refundable deposits to wine and spirits bottles, a measure that has been steadfastly resisted by the Société des alcools du Québec on no more reasonable grounds than that it would be excessively bothersome. But then you can get away with that sort of thing if you're a monopoly, as is the SAQ. And yet other provinces, even with monopoly liquor corporations, have managed to institute deposit-return systems for wine and spirits bottles, Quebec and Saskatchewan being the lone holdouts.

There is no excuse for continued resistance to such a system here. Particularly since we Quebecers lead the nation in per-capita wine consumption, something in which we like to take a certain pride. Not so proud is our record of recycling our wine bottles, with 40 per cent winding up in landfills, as opposed to fewer than 25 per cent in neighbouring Ontario.

And why not add bottled-water containers to the deposit-return list? Here's why we should: Quebecers buy about a billion plastic bottles of water each year and about half of these end up as litter in landfill sites, while between 68 and 93 per cent of drink containers with a deposit on them, depending on type, are recuperated. As well, other provinces, including British Columbia and Alberta, have somehow managed to do this.

Quebecers like to pride themselves on their elevated environmental consciousness. Our politicians, starting with the premier, like to preen to that effect on international stages. And yet our record on recycling beverage containers puts us to shame on that score.

http://www.montrealgazette.com/technology/better+keep+recyclables+landfill/4794254/story.html#ixzz1MvLVneO2