Open Letter: Ontario Bottle Deposit and Return Program
To whom it may concern at the Ministry of Public Infrastructure Renewal:
My name is Victor Rodriguez and I am an electrical engineer living in Oakville, Ontario.
As you know, in February of 2007, a 10- to 20-cent deposit program was initiated in Ontario for wine and spirit containers. This program was meant to mimic the Beer Store's existing bottle return program which has been in place since 1927.
Returning empty bottles is supposed to allow them to be reused instead of recycled, saving both energy and raw materials. Employing a deposit is also supposed to encourage people to return the bottles rather than simply throw them away which keeps them out of Ontario's landfills. The issue with this is that wine bottles are not designed to be reused and wineries are not set up to reuse them.
As you may be aware, yesterday was Earth Day. In the course of a 2-person 1-hour Earth Day trash cleanup in a forest near my home, my partner and I managed to collect 23 bottles of beer, 5 bottles of wine, and 9 glass bottles from other alcoholic drinks.
To me, this sends a clear message that the bottle return program, while a step in the right direction, could use some improvement. I would like to suggest a significant increase in the deposit amount for both beer and wine bottles with the goal of increasing return program participation. For consumers who already return their bottles (beer bottle returns are in the 90% - 99% range), a larger deposit should make no difference. The target is the remaining percentage of consumers who are not motivated enough by either the existing deposit or the environmental good deed of returning their empty bottles.
My suggested amount is a round number of $1 per bottle, regardless of size. At this price level, the financial motivation to return the bottles increases substantially and program participation should increase accordingly. Using a round number and ignoring bottle size reduces time and complexity for Beer Store workers.
As a long-term goal, once the return and refund program is successful in collecting all or nearly all acceptable bottles, I believe that wine bottles should be made truly reusable just like beer bottles.
Thank you for your time,
Victor Rodriguez
My name is Victor Rodriguez and I am an electrical engineer living in Oakville, Ontario.
As you know, in February of 2007, a 10- to 20-cent deposit program was initiated in Ontario for wine and spirit containers. This program was meant to mimic the Beer Store's existing bottle return program which has been in place since 1927.
Returning empty bottles is supposed to allow them to be reused instead of recycled, saving both energy and raw materials. Employing a deposit is also supposed to encourage people to return the bottles rather than simply throw them away which keeps them out of Ontario's landfills. The issue with this is that wine bottles are not designed to be reused and wineries are not set up to reuse them.
As you may be aware, yesterday was Earth Day. In the course of a 2-person 1-hour Earth Day trash cleanup in a forest near my home, my partner and I managed to collect 23 bottles of beer, 5 bottles of wine, and 9 glass bottles from other alcoholic drinks.
To me, this sends a clear message that the bottle return program, while a step in the right direction, could use some improvement. I would like to suggest a significant increase in the deposit amount for both beer and wine bottles with the goal of increasing return program participation. For consumers who already return their bottles (beer bottle returns are in the 90% - 99% range), a larger deposit should make no difference. The target is the remaining percentage of consumers who are not motivated enough by either the existing deposit or the environmental good deed of returning their empty bottles.
My suggested amount is a round number of $1 per bottle, regardless of size. At this price level, the financial motivation to return the bottles increases substantially and program participation should increase accordingly. Using a round number and ignoring bottle size reduces time and complexity for Beer Store workers.
As a long-term goal, once the return and refund program is successful in collecting all or nearly all acceptable bottles, I believe that wine bottles should be made truly reusable just like beer bottles.
Thank you for your time,
Victor Rodriguez
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