Why Bottle Deposit Systems are Good for the Planet

Incentivizing people to participate in climate positive actions such as recycling can be an effective way to tackle climate change. While adding financial stresses to already maxed out grocery budgets could be a controversial conversation, bottle deposit systems have a proven track record of environmental and economic benefits.

This post is a part of our Climate Change Collective conversations. Michelle at Boomer Eco Crusader is starting off our conversation this month with her post “Carrot or stick? Which works better to reduce our environmental footprint.” Learn more about the Climate Change Collective below.

History of Bottle Deposit System in BC

I’m always surprised to hear that other places—even within Canada—do not have bottle return systems in place. The idea of returning bottles to get back a cash deposit has been around my entire life. I have the fondest memories of doing bottle drives as a kid in order to fundraise for sports teams and events.

Michelle’s post made me wonder more about the history of our system in British Columbia and found out that it was introduced in 1970, making it one of the first of its kind in North America. It was established to address litter and encourage recycling by creating a financial incentive for consumers to return beverage containers.

Key Milestones:

1. 1970 – Introduction: BC implemented a mandatory deposit system for soft drink and beer containers. Consumers paid a small deposit when purchasing beverages, which was refunded when they returned the empty containers.
   
2. 1980s – Expansion: The system expanded to include wine, spirits, and other alcoholic beverage containers. This helped further reduce waste and encouraged more comprehensive recycling.
   
3. 1994 – The Beverage Container Stewardship Program: Under the Recycling Regulation, beverage producers became responsible for collecting and recycling their containers. This introduced stewardship agencies like Encorp Pacific (responsible for non-alcoholic containers) and Brewers Distributor Ltd. (for beer containers).
   
4. 2000s – Diversification: The system expanded to accept a wider range of materials, including plastic, aluminum, glass, and Tetra Pak containers. Deposit amounts were also adjusted to incentivize higher return rates.
   
5. 2022 – Milk and Plant-Based Beverage Containers Join Deposit System: The program was expanded to include dairy and non dairy milk beverages in an effort to increase the recycling of these containers.
   
6. Current Operation: BC has one of the most effective systems in Canada, achieving high return rates (over 75%). Containers are collected through a network of Return-It depots, and the program is funded by unredeemed deposits and fees from beverage producers.

Benefits of Deposit Recycling Systems

Bottle return systems with deposits, such as the one here in British Columbia, offer numerous benefits across environmental, economic, and social dimensions.

These are a few benefits of these programs:

1. Environmental Benefits

• Waste Reduction: Reduces the volume of waste sent to landfills by encouraging the return and recycling of beverage containers.
  
• Litter Control: Helps prevent litter in public spaces, waterways, and natural areas by providing a financial incentive to return containers.
  
• Resource Conservation: Facilitates the reuse and recycling of materials like aluminum, plastic, and glass, reducing the need for virgin material extraction.
  
• Lower Carbon Footprint: Recycling materials often requires less energy than producing new ones, resulting in fewer greenhouse gas emissions.

2. Economic Benefits

• Job Creation: Supports jobs in collection, sorting, and recycling industries.
  
• Efficient Resource Use: Creates a steady supply of high-quality recyclable materials, which can be resold to manufacturers.
  
• Producer Responsibility: Encourages beverage producers to consider the end-of-life impact of their products, potentially leading to more sustainable packaging designs.

3. Consumer Incentives

• Financial Motivation: Deposit refunds motivate individuals to return containers, making recycling an accessible and tangible action.
  
• Behavioral Change: Instills a habit of recycling among consumers, fostering a culture of environmental responsibility.

4. Social and Community Benefits

• Engagement Opportunities: Schools, charities, and community groups can collect bottles as a fundraising activity.
  
• Inclusive Participation: Provides income opportunities for bottle collectors, including vulnerable populations like the homeless. See The Binners Project in Vancouver for one such example.

5. Circular Economy Support

• Material Loop: Promotes a circular economy by ensuring materials are reused or recycled rather than discarded.
  
• Market Stability: Maintains consistent demand for recycled materials, supporting industries reliant on secondary raw materials.

6. Proven Effectiveness

• High Return Rates: Deposit systems typically achieve return rates of 75-95%, far exceeding those of standard curbside recycling programs. The container recovery rate for BC is 81%.

Deposit-return systems are highly effective in addressing environmental challenges, such as creating behavioural changes towards recycling, while also delivering economic and social benefits.

Read more in these resources:

An Analysis of Beverage Container Recovery and Costs in Canada
A report detailing beverage deposit systems by province as well as a general overview of the systems and their benefits. Read the report here: https://www2.gov.bc.ca/assets/gov/environment/waste-management/recycling/recycle/rel-res/who_pays_what.pdf

Recycling in BC: A History
A graphic detailing the history of recycling in British Columbia. Check out the history here: https://rcbc.ca/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/RCBC-History-of-Recycling-BC-2021.pdf

The Climate Change Collective

This post is a part of our Climate Change Collective conversations.

The Climate Change Collective was born out of an exchange that took place between Michelle and Jamie in the comments section of a Jamie Ad Stories blog post. Jamie and Michelle both care deeply about the impact of human activity on our planet and wanted to find a way to keep the climate change message top of mind for everyone. A tweet was sent out, bloggers responded, and we’ve all now teamed up to create the Climate Change Collective! Learn more about the bloggers behind this group in our post introducing everyone: Get to Know our 5 Fantastic Climate Change Collective Bloggers.

The idea is simple. The members of the collective will take turns writing a monthly blog post sharing their concerns and unique perspective about climate change. After the post is published, the rest of the group will keep the conversation going by sharing a link to the post on their blogs along with their thoughts and ideas. If you’re a like-minded blogger and would like to join our collective, please get in touch. The more the merrier!

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