The Beverage Container Stewardship Program (BCSP) has created new employment opportunities within the province. In a 1997 analysis, British Columbia's (B.C.'s) Ministry of Environment, Land and Parks (MELP, http://www.gov.bc.ca/elp/) Corporate Policy Branch, estimated the potential employment at bottle depots could increase by as much as 360 new full-time jobs when the expanded beverage container program was fully implemented. The Liquor Distribution Branch reports it has created between 60 and 65 full-time jobs as a result of the expanded beverage container deposit system. Furthermore, an existing Vancouver paper recycling mill was adapted to process polycoat containers, creating new local recycling capacity. Prior to this facility coming on-line, Encorp (http://www.encorpinc.com/) shipped these containers to the United States and Asia for processing. PET bottles recovered in the BCSP are sorted and baled at a B.C. company before being shipped to Alberta for secondary processing. The plant manager reports that shipments of PET have increased by 40% since the implementation of the BCSP. Other materials, including aluminum and steel cans, recovered in B.C.'s BCSP are shipped out of province for processing; therefore, job creation may have occurred in the transportation sector although no studies have investigated this.

The BCSP has not disrupted the existing refillables system for domestic beer bottles. Glass bottles in the system are refilled an average of 15 times per container. This system sustains local jobs at bottle washing and refilling plants.

While data on costs are not available for the Used Oil Stewardship program, the fact that used oil recovery programs were well-established before the government legislation was enacted is strong evidence that these recovery efforts are cost-effective for industry. The legislation also supports an existing local industry by ensuring adequate supply of used oil for the province's single oil re-refinery.

On a larger scale, B.C.'s stewardship programs are part of the province's growing environmental industry sector. In 1997, approximately 23,500 B.C. residents were employed in the environmental industry sector, an increase of 24% from 1995. Also in 1997, B.C.'s environmental businesses generated approximately Can$1.2 billion in revenues.

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