(1)
All monetary figures in this publication refer to Canadian dollars unless otherwise noted.
(2)
Due to safety considerations, handlers do not open containers to determine volume of residual material in each. Reported returns equal the volume of all containers.
(3)
Approximately 80% of beer sold in Canada is packaged in refillable glass bottles. The rate is much lower in British Columbia (B.C.) Ð approximately 30%. Greg D'Avignon, Executive Director of the Western Brewers Association, believes the lower usage of refillables in the province is due to circumstances unique to B.C. These include: (1) strikes by beer distributors in the early 1990s resulted in increased imports of canned beer from the U.S; (2) a Vancouver brewery has one of the most efficient canning lines in the country, and a resulting incentive to market canned beer; (3) under the province's regulated system, retailers have a financial incentive to sell beer in six-packs of cans rather than in cases of bottles; and (4) residents of B.C. tend to be active and engage in outdoor activities and find cans of beer to be more convenient for consuming beer away from home.
(4)
Helen Spiegelman, Recycling Council of British Columbia, personal communication, September 22, 2000.
(5)
B.C. Liberal Party, "NDP Must Delay Implementation of Expanded Beverage Container System for All Groups," September 10, 1998. Available on Liberal Party website at (http://www.bcliberals.bc.ca)
.
(6)
The BCMB was reconstituted as a 10-member, self-funded board after its original term expired on December 31, 1998.
(7)
Manufacturers marketing polycoat paper containers and gable-top containers convinced the government to give them an extension to implement their recycling plan. These containers became subject to deposit-refund requirements on October 1, 1999.
(8)
The regulation allows retailers to limit returns to 6 containers per person per day after stewardship plans have been fully implemented in a regional district. Once the overall diversion rate in the regional district is at least 75% (or a lesser diversion rate as permitted by the deputy minister) for a period of 3 consecutive months, retailers in that regional district are not required to redeem containers. Encorp reported a province-wide 76.47% recovery rate for non-alcoholic beverage containers during the period April 1, 1998, to December 31, 1998. While this is below the target of 85% overall recovery, it meets the level required for reduced retailer involvement in redemption operations.
(9)
Some of the Encorp depots are also authorized BDL and/or LDB depots. At these depots, operators pay full refund values for all containers.
(10)
Dave Douglas, Unit Head, MELP Pollution Prevention and Remediation Branch, Stewardship Unit, personal communication, September 26, 2000.
(11)
Before early 2000, brand owners internalized the cost of the recycling fees. In February 2000 Pepsi instructed its retailers to show the recycling fee as a separate item on consumers' receipts. Encorp announced on March 1, 2000, that brand owners would show recycling fees separately on invoices to retailers and that major retailers were expected to start showing the fees on customer receipts within eight weeks. This move created a furore among environmental groups. RCBC charged that the intent of the BCSR was to "internalize the cost of recycling containers as the cost of doing business" and Encorp did not mention plans to pass these costs directly on to consumers in its stewardship plan.
(12)
Clarissa Morawski, "Beverage Container Recovery in B.C.: Brand Owner Responsibility Increases Recovery Rates, Reduces Taxpayer Subsidies," Solid Waste & Recycling, August/September 1999.
(13)
Ibid. and Gordon Zelenika, LDB Beverage Container Recovery Project Manager, personal communication, July 17, 2000.
(14)
Gordon Zelenika, personal communication, July 17, 2000.
(15)
Ibid.
(16)
Clarissa Morawski, "Beverage Container Recovery in B.C.: Brand Owner Responsibility Increases Recovery Rates, Reduces Taxpayer Subsidies," Solid Waste & Recycling, August/September 1999.
(17)
Dave Douglas, Unit Head, MELP Pollution Prevention and Remediation Branch, Stewardship Unit, personal communication, July 6, 2000.
(18)
The government estimated potential cost savings assuming municipalities would save an average of Can$70 per metric tonne in avoided disposal costs for each additional tonne of material recycled under an expanded deposit-return system.
(19)
Dave Douglas, personal communication, July 6, 2000.
(20)
Clarissa Morawski, "Beverage Container Recovery in B.C.: Brand Owner Responsibility Increases Recovery Rates, Reduces Taxpayer Subsidies," Solid Waste & Recycling, August/September 1999. ILSR calculated per household costs based on Can$16.0 million divided by 1.4 million households in B.C. as reported by the 1996 Statistics Canada census. Statistics Canada 1996 census data are available on the Internet at (http://www.statcan.ca:80/english/census96/nation.htm).
(21)
This report is available on the MELP web site at http://www.env.gov.bc.ca/epd/epdpa/mpp/ipshhp/ghcc1.html#toc.
(22)
This order of priority was chosen based on an analysis of materials collected at the pilot HHW depots. The analysis revealed that in 1993 paint made up 70%; solvents, thinners, and fuels were 17%; and domestic pesticides comprised 7% of materials collected at the depots.
(23)
Danny Kelly, Manager of Marketing and Customer Service at Mohawk Lubricants, B.C., personal communication, July 25, 2000.
(24)
U.S. EPA Office of Solid Waste, Managing Used Oil: Advice for Small Businesses, EPA530-F-96-004, November 1996.
(25)
U.S. EPA Region 9 web site, (http://www.epa.gov/region09/waste/solid/house.htm)
, August 2000.
(26)
U.S. EPA, "Solid Waste Disposal Facility Criteria; Proposed Rule," Federal Register 53(168), 40 CFR Parts 257 and 258 (Washington, DC: U.S. EPA, August 30, 1988), pp. 33314-33422.
(27)
"Estimated Employment Impacts of Beverage Container Strategy," MELP Corporate Policy Branch, March 1997. As of July 2000, no studies have documented actual employment gains in recycling depots as a result of the BCSP. In its preliminary study, MELP acknowledged the potential for job losses in the retail sector as a result of shifting bottle handling from retail establishments to depots but noted that no such retail job losses occurred when Alberta implemented its depot system.
(28)
Gordon Zelenika, personal communication, July 17, 2000.
(29)
Bill Anderson, Vice President of Operations, Merlin Plastics Supply, Inc., Delta, B.C. personal communication, September 26, 2000.
(30)
B.C. MELP; Environmental Trends in British Columbia 2000, 2000.
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