Originally published July 3/15 The Reminder, Flin Flon, Mb. Sponsored by North of 53 Consumers Coop.
I was thinking about the ongoing issue of why we don’t give money for beverage containers that are recycled. And then I thought about the grocery carts at the Coop.
What is the connection?
The focus of this discussion is usually on how much money a person gets for returning drink containers. It is rare that anyone thinks about where that money comes from.
It isn’t government or businesses giving you their money.
They are just giving you your money back. It is like getting the loonie out of the grocery cart that you put in when you started.
In Saskatchewan, you will pay a ten cent deposit when you purchase an average sized beverage. It is more for larger drinks. That is the ten cents you get back.
There is also a six cent recycling levy that is not returned. It pays the costs of the deposit system.
The Manitoba system has a two cent environment levy that is not returned.
It is illegal to take beverage containers from our community to Saskatchewan with the exception of liquor containers.
It is illegal because you have not given them any of your money for them to give back to you. You are taking money from the system that does not belong to you.
Many believe getting money back would result in less litter. However, our experience with beer containers contradicts that argument.
A ten cent deposit is returned for empty beer containers in Manitoba. Beer containers are the majority of beverage containers littering our roadsides and a large number of them can be found at the landfill.
I won’t pick the best system. We just need to follow the system we have.
I was thinking about the ongoing issue of why we don’t give money for beverage containers that are recycled. And then I thought about the grocery carts at the Coop.
What is the connection?
The focus of this discussion is usually on how much money a person gets for returning drink containers. It is rare that anyone thinks about where that money comes from.
It isn’t government or businesses giving you their money.
They are just giving you your money back. It is like getting the loonie out of the grocery cart that you put in when you started.
In Saskatchewan, you will pay a ten cent deposit when you purchase an average sized beverage. It is more for larger drinks. That is the ten cents you get back.
There is also a six cent recycling levy that is not returned. It pays the costs of the deposit system.
The Manitoba system has a two cent environment levy that is not returned.
It is illegal to take beverage containers from our community to Saskatchewan with the exception of liquor containers.
It is illegal because you have not given them any of your money for them to give back to you. You are taking money from the system that does not belong to you.
Many believe getting money back would result in less litter. However, our experience with beer containers contradicts that argument.
A ten cent deposit is returned for empty beer containers in Manitoba. Beer containers are the majority of beverage containers littering our roadsides and a large number of them can be found at the landfill.
I won’t pick the best system. We just need to follow the system we have.
RSS Feed