bottles and 20 cents for non-refillable tainer. (This estimate assumes that the DIVERSION containers with volumes greater cost of shipping recovered soft-drink than 450ml. containers back to distribution centers Distributors are required to collect is nil since the trucks must return to redeemed containers from vendors. them after delivery anyway.) Trucks that deliver new product also The Brewers Association “R and R” recover empty refillable beer bottles and the company that collects the and non-refillable soft-drink contain- non-refillable containers on behalf of in Quebec ers. These are consolidated at distrib- the brewers, Recycan, estimate that ution warehouses for shipment back the cost of collecting non-refillable Recovery and recycling to bottlers or accredited recyclers. beer containers from retail stores is Recycan, a private hauling company between 1.5 cents and 2 cents per programs in “la belle contracted by the Brewers collects unit. Taking the gross costs and rev- province” non-refillable beer containers. Dis- enues into account, the net per con- tributors keep the revenue associated tainer system cost of the Quebec with the sale of their container mater- deposit-refund system is therefore by Clarissa Morawski ial. (In 1998, this amounted to one cent per container recovered. $20,135,021.) (See chart above.) Of the six provinces this column Recyc-Quebec collects and pools has reviewed to date, Quebec’s deposits from distributors. Based on Full producer responsibility approach to beverage container the number of containers redeemed, Quebec’s deposit-return system is a recovery is the most unique. Unlike retailers receive a refund plus a 2-cent model of full producer responsibility— other Canadian deposit-refund juris- recovery “incentive fee” for all non- both the beer and soft-drink industries dictions, Quebec’s system for soft refillable containers returned. Last have incorporated container recovery drink and beer containers is exclu- year, Recyc-Quebec collected directly into their distribution infra- sively return-to-retail. Other beverage $14,270,698 in unredeemed deposits structure. And the industries continue containers are recycled through the and paid out $17,262,210 in recovery to enjoy packaging freedom. Based on curbside collection system. incentive fees. their packaging choices, both indus- Beer and soft-drink containers In fiscal 1998 the aggregate tries can choose either to accrue the account for 75 per cent of all bever- provincial recovery rate for non- financial benefits of reuse (through age containers sold in Quebec. Distri- refillable beer and soft drink contain- avoided container purchase costs) or butors are regulated under Law 87, ers was 76 per cent. In Quebec refill- recycling (through revenues from ma- the title of which translates literally as able containers account for about 90 terial sales) or to bear the costs of using the “law on selling and distributing per cent of beer sales by volume and packaging that doesn’t offset its collec- beer and soft-drinks in one-way pack- are recovered at a rate of 98 per cent. tion costs. aging.” While the provisions only Beverage containers other than cover non-refillables, refillable beer System costs soft drinks and beer (e.g., wine and containers are also recovered through The net “per container” system cost of spirit containers, New Age beverages, a voluntary deposit-return system that the program takes into account the juices, water) are collected with other uses the same infrastructure as the costs incurred and revenues accrued packaging and paper through the non-refillable containers. by both Recyc-Quebec and beer and multi-material curbside collection Founded in 1990, Quebec’s So- soft drink distributors. Consistent with programs (called “selective collec- ciety for Recovery and Recycling (or other deposit-refund systems reviewed tion”) operated by about 70 per cent “Recyc-Quebec”) enforces Law 87 to date, a net system cost has been of Quebec municipalities. and monitors transactions between determined that accounts for the rev- In 1996, the $30-million net pro- distributors, retailers and recyclers. enues from unredeemed deposits, pay- gram cost of selective collection was Recyc-Quebec’s administrators also ments of container return incentive covered almost entirely by Quebec generally promote the 3Rs for pack- fees to retailers, collection costs, municipalities. The system achieves a aging. Programs include the deposit- administration costs and revenues 33 per cent recycling rate for all return system, research and market from the sale of recovered beverage waste at a net cost of approximately development, a tire stewardship pro- container materials. (See chart.) $115/tonne. gram and environmental promotion In 1996, the Soft Drink Association and education. of Quebec released a detailed summa- Government policy Over 40,000 grocers, service sta- ry of the costs associated with recover- In September 1998, Quebec’s environ- tions, pharmacies and bars are charg- ing non-refillable beverage containers ment minister announced the “Action ed a deposit on non-refillable beer from retail stores. Activity costs— Plan” for waste management in and soft-drink containers. Of these, including handling, loading and Quebec. Consistent with the “producer about 10,000 licensed grocers redeem unloading, billing, storage space, ship- pays” principal, the plan obligates containers. Licensed establishments ping to the recycler and verification— businesses to recover their packaging redeem their deposits when distribu- were accounted for in the soft drink waste and sets an overall recovery goal tors deliver full product and pick up industry’s gross collection cost esti- of 65 per cent by 2008. Businesses the empties. The deposit schedule is 5 mate. Based on the number of contain- may implement their own recovery cents for non-refillable soft-drink and ers collected that year, the soft-drink programs or delegate responsibility to beer containers with volumes under industry’s per container collection cost another certified organization. In order 450ml, 10 cents for refillable beer is estimated to be 2.9 cents per con- to formalize these obligations, the min- 26 Solid Waste & Recycling June/July 1999 DIVERSION

Non-Refillable Soft Drink and Beer Container Recovery in Quebec System Costs (April 1, 1997 Ð March 31, 1998) Revenues Recyc-Quebec Distributors Notes

Unredeemed deposits $14,270,698 --- $58,713,132 in deposits - $44,442,434 in redeemed deposits = $14,270,698 in unredeemed deposits.

Revenues from materials $20,135,021 Revenue estimate provided by Recyc-Quebec.

TOTAL $14,270,698 $20,135,021 Expenses Short Fall $715

Recycling Incentive Fees $17,262,210 Recycling “incentive fee” - $.02/unit is paid to retailers for recovering non-refillable containers.

Collection $25,401,778 Based on the Quebec Brewer’s Association 1996 study, which shows a $.029/unit cost to collect and transport their containers. ($.029 * 875,923,389 containers collected = $25,401,778)

$555,461 Based on an average of the estimated cost range ($.015 to $.02) of $.018/unit provided by Recycan and the Association of Brewers of Quebec. This covers collection and transportion of non-refillable beer containers. ($.018 * 30,858,948 containers collected = $555,461)

Administration $600,000 $150,000 Administration also includes auditing, inspections and salaries. From Jan 1, 98 to March 31, 98 Recyc-Quebec deferred the associated administration costs of beer containers ($150,000) to the Brewers.

TOTAL $17,862,925 $26,107,239

Profit/Loss $(3,592,227) $(5,972,218) Net system cost $(9,564,445) Per container cost $(0.01) The net per container cost is calculated by dividing the total containers recovered by the net system cost ($9,879,243/ 906,782,337) = $.01 istry will draft detailed regulations indication of the level of effort and cost other beverage producers may recon- scheduled for release this summer. associated with increasing recovery. In sider using curbside collection if they It’s estimated that by 2008 industry 1998, the Massachusetts government plan to meet the province’s 65 per cent will be required to pay $29-million of commissioned the Tellus Institute (a diversion target. This is especially true the $44-million net municipal recy- Boston-based non-profit research orga- of the industry which cling costs (i.e., the net cost of recy- nization) to find out what it would cost bottles 64 per cent of the wine con- cling minus avoided landfill costs) to divert 85 per cent of beverage con- sumed in the province and which could associated with the 65 per cent recov- tainers using non-deposit systems. benefit from the cost savings associat- ery rate. The provincial recycling cost Tellus found that an 85 per cent recov- ed with bottle reuse. With a recovery estimate assumes that the net cost of ery rate could only be achieved with rate of 76 per cent, and at cost of one “selective collection” will drop—as a the addition of extensive infrastructure cent per container, Quebec’s stream- result of economies of scale—from designed to capture the high percent- lined return-to-retail deposit-return $115 per tonne to $88 per tonne age of beverage containers consumed system for soft-drink and beer contain- (assuming current market prices and and discarded away from the home. ers is efficient and effective. packaging mix). The requirement for additional

However, market prices and the recycling bins and collection services Article online packaging mix are changing. With the from public spaces, parks, beaches, www.solidwastemag.com recovery of non-deposit beverage con- shopping and service centres and office tainers currently at less than half of the buildings, plus the requirement for Clarissa Morawski is principal of CM provincial target, the incremental cost increased education and promotion Consulting in , . The of increasing their recovery to 65 per would, drive system costs to approxi- beverage container recovery series is cent through curbside recycling may be mately CDN$7,000 per tonne. available on-line at www.solid- higher than originally estimated. Data Given the current low system cost wastemag.com. from other jurisdictions provide some for soft drinks and beer in Quebec,

June/July 1999 Solid Waste & Recycling 27