During the Holidays, continue to place wine bottles in your recycling

PRESS RELEASE
During the Holidays
Continue to place wine bottles in your recycling bin
Montreal, December 19, 2014 - Louise Fecteau, spokesperson for the bacs+ group, sent a message to
municipal elected officials and the members of Quebec’s National Assembly cautioning them against
expanding the deposit system, particularly to wine and water bottles. “It’s high time for Quebecers to
realize that broadening the deposit system is a veritable attack on curbside recycling that could
jeopardize a simple, accessible and highly effective system we have been collectively developing for
more than 20 years,” said Ms. Fecteau.
The bacs+ group represents thousands of companies, organizations and associations of retailers,
restaurant owners and convenience stores as well as many stakeholders in the materials recovery
industry who have rallied under the recycling bin symbol to promote the effectiveness and efficiency of
curbside recycling.
Here is what was sent:
Think about it...
Removing containers from the recycling bin to return them for deposit: not such a good idea!
This fall, deposit system supporters asked to have wine bottles immediately excluded from the curbside
recycling system, without taking into consideration the major negative impacts this decision could have.
Leading up to the Holiday season when making wise decisions is a must, we hope everyone takes the
time to look at the potential consequences of such a switch.
The issue of broadening the deposit system to include wine or water bottles is complex. Risks include:
 Jeopardizing 20 years of work to make curbside recycling a simple and effective system.
 Forcing Quebecers to go back to the store to return bottles and recover the deposit they paid.
 Increasing costs for municipalities who pay 50% of the costs of managing materials mistakenly
placed in recycling bins.
 Curbing sorting centre modernization efforts currently underway and stranding the 50% of
glass used for containers other than for wine and spirits.
 Turning the clock back 30 years to install and manage pollution-generating deposit centres or
recovery structures in each city, town and village.
 Weakening the relevance of recycling bins in public places.
 Increasing costs for the government in a climate of budgetary austerity.
 Discouraging highly promising projects to develop uses for glass powder in municipal
infrastructures (roadwork, sidewalks, concrete) that are beneficial for the environment and
public finances.
 Increasing GHGs and reducing environmental performance.
 Calling into question companies’ financing of the curbside recycling compensation plan.
BACSPLUS.CA
PRESS RELEASE
Decisions affecting curbside recycling practices must be based on in-depth analyzes and involve first-line
stakeholders. It would therefore be wise to wait for the findings of the CREATE study (Centre de
Recherche en économie de l'Environnement, de l'Agroalimentaire, des Transports et de l'Énergie) and of
the Minister’s advisory committee on residual materials, among other sources of information. In the
meantime, any attempt to discredit the current curbside recycling system should be strongly
discouraged.
This Holiday season, continue to place all your wine bottles as well as pickle, ketchup and condiment jars
and other glass containers in your recycling bin. Curbside recycling should be expanded, not dismantled!
Let’s take the time during this joyous period to recycle more, and better.
bacs+ Partners: Association des détaillants en alimentation du Québec (ADA), Retail Council of Canada
(RCC), Canadian Beverage Association, Association des Embouteilleurs de Boissons Gazeuses du Québec
(AEBGQ), Association des Restaurateurs du Québec (ARQ), Association québécoise des dépanneurs en
alimentation (AQDA), Conseil de la transformation agroalimentaire et des produits de consommation
(CTAC), Québec Restaurant and Foodservices Council (Restaurants Canada), Conseil des entreprises en
technologies environnementales du Québec (CETEQ), Conseil québécois du commerce de détail (CQCD),
Éco Entreprises Québec, Eagle Vizion, Federation of Plastics and Alliances Composites (FPAC), Gaïa
environnement, Gaudreau Environnement, Away-from-Home Recovery Program, Eaux Naya Inc.,
Machinex, Ni Corporation, Plastrec Inc., RÉSEAU Environnement, Spirits Canada, Société des alcools du
Québec (SAQ), Soleno, Soleno Recyclage, Tricentris, Conseil des industriels laitiers du Québec inc.
– 30 –
Source:
Virginie Bussières
Director, Communications and Public Affairs
Éco Entreprises Québec
Information and requests for interviews:
Pierre Guillot-Hurtubise
Octane Strategies
514-581-6068
BACSPLUS.CA