Ontario Premier Doug Ford must reverse his recent decision to shut down the development of a deposit-return program for non-alcoholic beverage containers. This program is long overdue and essential to reduce plastic pollution in Ontario. 

Deposit-return systems—where consumers return their empties to the store for a refund of the deposit they paid when they bought the beverage—keeps billions of plastic bottles from being landfilled, incinerated and littered each year.

In Ontario, expanded deposit return would reduce waste going to the landfill by 100,000 tonnes per year, and litter by 8,000 tonnes per year. It would keep an estimated 1.7 billion plastic bottles out of landfills, incinerators and the natural environment.

Due to pressure from Ontarians like you, in 2023 the provincial government established a working group to design a deposit-return program for non-alcoholic beverages. Even beverage companies were onside. But barely a year later, when the government was on the cusp of an effective plan, Premier Ford pulled the plug—to the delight of retail chains that clearly don’t want to take responsibility for their part in this beverage container mess. 

Deposit return is the most effective way to ensure beverage containers are collected and refilled or recycled. No other system works as well. That’s why most other provinces in Canada already have a comprehensive deposit-return system. And why those provinces do a much better job of keeping beverage containers out of landfills, incinerators and the environment.

Send a message to Premier Ford today to tell him you want a deposit-return program for all beverage containers in Ontario.

Read more about deposit returns: “Industry’s “Recycle Everywhere” Program Would Cost Twice as Much and Deliver Far Less than Deposit Return”

 

Your letter will go to Premier Doug Ford and the Ontario Environment Minister Andrea Khanjin

cc: Leader of the Green Party of Ontario Mike Schreiner, Leader of the New Democratic Party of Ontario Marit Stiles, Leader of the Liberal Party of Ontario Bonnie Crombie, Critic for the Environment and Climate Change Mary-Margaret McMahon (Liberal Party Ontario), Critic for Environment, Conservation and Parks Sandy Shaw (New Democratic Party Ontario)