Higher refund for Quebec bottle and can deposits kicks in

Quebec expands bottle deposit system Despite an expansion in Quebec's bottle deposit system that came into effect today, some are calling for even more changes to be made.

You can now pocket a little more cash when depositing your empty bottles and cans in Quebec.

On Wednesday, the refund for most containers rose from five to 10 cents, with a wider variety of cans now accepted.

The exception is glass bottles over 500 millilitres, which will earn you 25 cents a pop.

Meanwhile, the refund for beer cans over 450 millilitres, previously set at 20 cents, will decrease to 10 cents for "standardization reasons" (this change won't kick in until Nov. 15, however).

The upgrades fall under Phase 1 of the plan to modernize and expand Quebec's deposit-refund system.

The goal is to encourage consumers to recycle their drink containers and make the service more accessible.

"Eventually, the number of redeemable beverage containers will double to 5 billion per year, with a target recovery rate of 90 per cent by 2032," reads a press release from the Quebec Beverage Container Recycling Association (QBCRA).

'EVERY CAN CAN'

Quebec's deposit system has also expanded to include aluminum containers beyond the simple soda can, such as those containing tea, cider, carbonated water and juice.

This is in addition to already returnable containers, like beer and pop cans, plastic soda bottles, and glass kombucha bottles.

"All aluminum beverage containers of between 100 mL and 2 L are now redeemable [...]which means 300 million more recyclable containers per year," the QBCRA release continues.

'ISN'T GOOD ENOUGH'

Quebec's changes to its deposit-refund program, while highly anticipated, were not met with an entirely positive reception.

"We have the chance to develop one of the best deposit refund systems in the world, but what's been implemented so far isn't good enough. We hope that the situation will be corrected," reads a statement from Amélie Côté, an analyst with environmental group Équiterre.

The organization, which argues the new refund isn't high enough to incentivize consumers, brought 6,000 bottles to the national assembly on Wednesday to illustrate the urgency of Quebec's waste issue.

"To physically see what that represents helps to demonstrate the scale of the problem," said Côté.

Plastic water bottles -- as well as milk cartons, juice cartons, wine bottles and spirit bottles -- still aren't eligible for refund in Quebec.

The plan is to start including these containers in the spring of 2025.

"Between now and then, more than a billion glass and plastic containers will be sent for disposal. That's far too many," an Équiterre press release states.

Quebec's reform of its deposit system was initially supposed to kick in at the end of 2022, but was delayed due to labour shortages caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.