Canadian brewers voluntarily introduced a deposit-return system for refillable domestic beer bottles in 1962. Most major Canadian brewers do not distribute beer in non-refillable bottles within Canada.(3) Producers of other beverages gradually began switching to non-refillable containers during the 1950s and 1960s.

In the 1960s policy makers in British Columbia (B.C.) considered banning non-refillable bottles due to the proliferation of litter. Instead, B.C. became the first jurisdiction in North America to establish a mandatory deposit-refund system for soft drink and beer containers with the enactment of its 1970 Litter Act. Deposits encourage consumers to return containers instead of discarding them as trash or litter and are critical for achieving high return levels for refillables and recyclables.

During the 1990s, local governments found that management of beverage containers not covered under the Litter Act was becoming a burden on taxpayers. By the mid-90s the Society Promoting Environmental Conservation (http://www.spec.bc.ca/), the Recycling Council of British Columbia (RCBC, http://www.rcbc.bc.ca/), and bottle depot operators joined local governments in support of expanding the deposit-refund system to include wine, spirits, juice, teas, and water. In 1995, RCBC sent an 18,000-signature petition supporting new legislation to Victoria.

The soft drink industry mobilized all other beverage producers in opposition to expanding the deposit system, and pushed for increased community recycling instead. B.C.'s juice industry lobbied against the proposed system, and threatened to move operations to the U.S. if expanded deposits were implemented.(4) The B.C. Liberal Party also opposed the expansion because of concerns that the new system would result in lost jobs and higher prices.(5)

In August 1997 the provincial government created a 19-member Interim Beverage Container Management Board (BCMB).(6) The board allowed representatives from industry, public interest groups, local government, and bottle depot operators to have input in the drafting of the 1997 Beverage Container Stewardship Program (BCSP) Regulation (http://www.env.gov.bc.ca/epd/cpr/regs/bcspr.html). Creation of the BCMB helped create an open process for working out the terms of the regulation. The resulting regulation required all brand-owners of ready-to-drink beverages (except milk, milk substitutes, liquid meal replacements, and infant formula) (1) develop and implement by October 1, 1998 a stewardship plan creating a province-wide collection system for deposit containers, (2) set an 85% minimum recovery goal for beverage containers by 2001, and (3) required that redeemed containers be refilled or recycled.(7) The regulation also provided for reduced retail involvement in the return system once depots provided an equally convenient alternative.(8)

The beverage industry designated three agencies to fulfill their responsibilities under the BCSP Regulation. These agencies and their areas of responsibility are:

Encorp Pacific (Canada)	Non-alcoholic beverage containers
Liquor Distribution Branch (LDB)	Wine and spirit containers; non-refillable beer, cider and cooler bottles, except those produced by Molson and Labatt
Brewers Distributor Ltd. (BDL)	Domestic beer in refillable glass and all alcoholic beverages in aluminum cans

Encorp (http://www.encorpinc.com/) contracts with operators of over 160 return depots for collection of non-alcoholic beverage containers. Some of these depots also accept alcoholic beverage containers, but depot operators may discount the refund to cover costs because the beer industry will not pay handling commissions.(9)

In addition to acting as a stewardship agency, the LDB is the provincial government agency responsible for sales and distribution of alcoholic beverages. The LDB accepts containers at retail outlets and stores and at 45 depots. BDL provides for returns at LDB retail outlets, cold beer and wine stores, and 21 depots.

Return to Table of Contents