July 3, 1996
(Environment and Labour)

Province gives green light to deposit/refund system for beverage containers

Kevin Aylward, Minister for Environment and Labour, announced today that Cabinet has approved plans to develop a multi-materials packaging stewardship program, starting with a deposit/refund system for beverage containers. At a news conference held at Confederation Building today, Mr. Aylward said the time has come to take stronger action in solving the province's waste management problems.

"We are at a place in our history where we must take effective measures to get beverage containers and other packaging materials out of the landfill sites and off the streets and highways of this province. The deposit/refund system is a very good place to start," he said. The minister said the deposit/refund system is effective at removing beverage containers from the waste stream because it puts an economic value on the containers and turns "garbage" into money. "In other provinces where deposit/refund systems are in place, people are returning as much as 80 per cent of beverage containers in circulation and diverting them from the waste stream. That is because they are just too valuable to throw away," the minister continued.

The minister said the establishment of a deposit/refund system for beverage containers represents an economic opportunity for the province. "The collection system necessary to run such a program can create several hundred jobs and we are looking at business opportunities that arise out of the utilization of recovered materials."

Over the summer, the Department of Environment and Labour will hold consultations with stakeholders to finalize the details of the plan. In general, it is expected the plan will operate along the lines of deposit/refund systems currently operating in Nova Scotia and New Brunswick. Funds derived from the system may be used in part to cover the cost of running the depot system. The balance of revenues may go into an environmental trust fund that will assist groups and individuals to work on waste management problems. This fund will be administered by the Multi-materials Stewardship Board. Cabinet has also given approval for this board to be established.

When stakeholder consultations are completed, the Department of Environment and Labour will submit a detailed proposal to Cabinet for final approval. The department expects to have the deposit/refund program in place by fall of 1996.

Contact: Teddy Ryan, Director of Public Relations, (709) 729-2575.

• BACKGROUNDER
• In 1993, government entered into an agreement with the Canadian Soft Drink Association (CSDA) and the Canadian Industry Packaging Service Initiative to reduce the amount of packaging, including beverage containers that is going to landfill sites and littering public streets and highways. The agreement was that both plans were inter-related and both must succeed in order to avoid regulatory action.
• To be effective in this regard, a major component of the strategy involved CIPSI developing a national program for waste control measures. Some of the larger provinces such as Ontario did not participate and CIPSI was not able to fulfil its commitment.
• The CSDA program began in May 1994 and the "It's Yours, Keep It Clean" campaign has been running for over two years. CSDA also joined with the Department of Works, Services and Transportation in sponsoring the "Adopt A Highway " program. The campaign is creating public awareness of the waste and littering problems. But, as has been demonstrated across the country, awareness without incentive is not effective in getting people to recycle materials such as beverage containers.
• In the fall of 1995, the Department of Environment began to seek more effective alternatives. A proposal which examined programs operating successfully in the other provinces and outlined the preferred options, was presented to government by the departments of Environment; Industry, Trade and Technology; and Municipal and Provincial Affairs in early 1996.
• In June 1996 Cabinet gave approval to the Department of Environment and Labour, as the lead department, to develop a plan for a packaging stewardship program, the first stage of which is a deposit/refund system for beverage containers. The department will return to Cabinet for final approval of the detailed plan when stakeholder consultations and draft regulations are completed.
• In Newfoundland, 130 million beverage containers come into the province each year.
• Newfoundland is the only Canadian province that does not have some sort of waste materials collection system.