Canadian province adds container recycling fee - Municipal Recycling - Brief Article

Recycling Today, Oct, 2002

The province of Alberta has begun imposing a "container recycling fee" for plastic and glass beverage containers. Aluminum cans, however, will not see an increased fee.

The Alberta Beverage Container Recycling Corp. (ABCRC) sponsors the program and says the fee is based on the net cost to process and recycle beverage containers.

The goal of the recycling fee is to cover the difference between the costs of the beverage container recycling system and the money from unredeemed deposits. According to ABCRC, the system needs around $15 million more a year than the two funding sources generate.

The container recycling fee in non-refundable, although deposits remain fully refundable. The fee is similar to charges levied in British Columbia and Saskatchewan. Critics of the policy, however, say that the non-refundable fee is a tax.

For larger plastic bottles and most glass bottles, the cost is seven cents per container. On smaller juice boxes and drink pouches, the charge is two cents.