1 December 2016 – CM Consulting is pleased to announce the release of the 2016 Who Pays What report. This 7th edition of the report continues to feature the latest data on beverage container recovery in Canada, including province-specific performance rates and collection costs, as well as an analysis of environmental and economic benefits.
To view the entire report (4.7MB) or to download individual parts, including the executive summary, click on the appropriate title below. For the first time, the report is also available as a video on YouTube, in both French and English.
The key findings of the report include the following:
- Recycling rates in deposit-return jurisdictions continue to be much higher than those in jurisdictions that rely on curbside collection and away-from-home- recycling programs to collect beverage containers.
- The national recycling rate for aluminum cans is 73%. While most provinces recycle over 70% of their cans, Ontario’s recycling rate is below 50%, which brings down the national average.
- The national recycling rate for PET bottles is 61%. Again, most provinces recycle over 70% of these, but Ontario and Quebec (for non-carbonated beverages) both have rates below 50%.
- Materials collected in curbside systems are of much lower quality (i.e. higher rates of contamination) than those collected via deposit-return systems, , which makes it more challenging to find markets for recyclates.
- The reuse and recycling of beverage containers in Canada continues to generate significant environmental benefits in terms of reduced greenhouse gas emissions and avoided energy usage.
- Canada’s beverage container recovery programs also generate major economic benefits for municipalities. Aside from job creation, deposit-return systems save municipalities money through avoided collection, treatment, and disposal costs that would occur if they had to collect beverage containers through the municipal waste management system. Savings also result from reduced litter clean-up costs.
WPW 2016 Full Report
To download individual parts of the report, please click on the appropriate section below.
REUSE & RECYCLING OF BEVERAGE CONTAINERS
ECONOMIC & ENVIRONMENTAL BENEFITS
Who Pays What is a jointly sponsored initiative paid for by the beverage industry, not-for-profit agencies, and government. This “cost share” model provides interested parties with a valuable report at an extremely affordable cost.
