The City of Hamilton has joined cities like Ottawa, Toronto, and London in urging the Ontario government to set up a deposit-return system for non-alcoholic beverage containers.
Ontario has the lowest recycling rates in Canada for these containers, with fewer than half being recycled.
In a motion last month, Ward 12 councillor Craig Cassar asked that the city support a push led by the Canadian Beverage Association for the province to adopt such a program.
“I wanted Hamilton to also lend its voice to the other municipalities who have called on the government to implement such a program,” Cassar told CBC Hamilton.
“In Ontario, we rely only on the residential blue box system,” he said. “So, what this would do is provide an incentive for both consumer and industrial returns of non-alcoholic [beverage containers].”
Councillors unanimously approved the motion at an Aug. 31 public works committee meeting. The City Clerk’s Office informed CBC Hamilton Thursday that it was in the process of sending the motion to the province.
CBC Hamilton reached out to the Ministry of Environment, Conservation and Parks but did not receive a response.
Program Previously Considered
The city and province should aim for a circular economy, and this initiative would help reach that goal, Cassar mentioned, saying it could save costs.
“If we have these recyclable products that are just going to landfill, well, landfills fill up faster and it costs money to build new landfills,” he said.
“That impacts everybody when we’re talking about taxes needed to operate municipal facilities like landfill sites.”
The Canadian Beverage Association (CBA) began advocating for this program in 2023. Since then Barrie, Waterloo, Peel Regional Council, Association of Municipalities of Ontario and Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Cities Initiative have also joined their efforts, according to Krista Scaldwell, president of CBA.
Ontario looked into launching a similar plan in 2023 when then Minister of Environment David Piccini stated in a letter that “such a system would enable consumers to receive a refund for returning used beverage containers, promoting recycling, reducing litter, and encouraging sustainable practices.”
The province dropped that plan due to costs. Scaldwell referred to it as a “significant setback.”
In 2024, non-profit group Environmental Defence estimated that around 1.7 billion plastic beverage containers end up in Ontario’s landfills or incinerators each year.
Since then global trade tensions and tariff uncertainty have raised costs for beverage producers; Scaldwell noted this week.
“A cost-effective deposit-return system with high recovery rates would help Ontario’s sector remain competitive,” she stated.
“A clear government decision would give producers the certainty they need to invest and provide Ontarians with the system they want.”
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