This blog is a random collection of information, partly in support of my quotations web site. Other topics include wine, military news, economics, history, libertarianism, and other random things which happen to strike my fancy. Backup site is at http://quotulatiousness.blogspot.com/ (if there are no posts showing, hit the backup blog for explanation). Comments have been turned off, as the spam was getting too much to handle. Comments can be emailed to me for posting.

September 07, 2006

Ontario to move on wine bottle recycling

The Ontario government is now talking about having the private consortium called "The Beer Store" (formerly Brewers Retail) run a wine bottle recycling program in tandem with their existing beer bottle recycling program:

Ontarians will soon be charged a deposit on bottles purchased at the LCBO and will be able to return their booze empties to The Beer Store.

No details were available on how much deposits will be or how quickly the system will be up and running for consumers.

But Premier Dalton McGuinty advised his cabinet yesterday about the ambitious new deposit-return program, sources said. It's a public-private partnership with Brewers' Retail, owned by Labatt, Molson and Sleeman.

This is certainly an overdue measure, especially when you realize that the LCBO sells an incredible amount of wine:

While the Beer Store, which will receive an undisclosed fee for handling LCBO empties, has been successfully collecting bottles for deposit for generations, the liquor stores have resisted implementing a return system.

Instead, the LCBO has been paying $5 million a year into the blue box program, which handles bottles of all colours, shapes and sizes from liquor stores. Liquor stores sell more than $3 billion worth of wine and about $1.4 billion in spirits annually.

Cross-posted to Ontario Wine Blog. Hat tip to Jon, who wrote "Nothing says 'class' like having a 25-cent bottle deposit on your $100 bottle o' chug."

Posted by Nicholas at September 7, 2006 12:01 PM
Comments
About time, Alberta has had that for years and it does make a difference when you look at the roadside trash (or lack of it). I think though that as usual they are making too big a hastle with using the Beer Store instead of letting new bottle depots businesses start up and thrive. I wish they could do something like that here in Texas. Posted by: texas_canuck at September 8, 2006 10:21 AM
I think though that as usual they are making too big a hastle with using the Beer Store instead of letting new bottle depots businesses start up and thrive.
That's (at least partly) because of all the disaster stories we read when Alberta privatized their equivalent to the LCBO: stores closed, selections diminished, prices skyrocketing, and customers bitter and angry. That, plus a political aversion to the private sector in anything among the movers and shakers in the current government probably accounts for the direction the current plans are taking. Posted by: Nicholas at September 8, 2006 04:44 PM


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