Brand owner responsibility increases recovery rates, reduces taxpayer subsidies
Last October, the Province of British Columbia implemented the largest expansion of a deposit-return program for beverage containers in North America. After only eight months, the program has been described as “a very successful operation” by Malcolm Harvey, communications manager of Encorp Pacific Canada, a not-for-profit agency that represents over 180 brand owners of over 6,600 labels of non-alcoholic beverages.
For nearly a decade, B.C. has been a leading proponent of packaging and product stewardship through the implementation of government or industry operated recovery programs for products such as tires, lead acid and ni-cd batteries, used oil, paint, pharmaceuticals, solvents, pesticides and, most recently, a wider assortment of beverage containers.
