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Celebrating Ontario’s Environmental Leadership - Environmental Communication Options/Huff Strategy

Celebrating Ontario’s Environmental Leadership

Jan 31st, 2014 6:03 AM

January 31, 2014
The Beer Store’s deposit return and material management system is a world-class recycling system that benefits Ontario taxpayers and Ontario’s environment
Mississauga, ON (January 31, 2014) --The Beer Store, a global environmental leader, is at work in communities across the province, serving Ontarians and the environment. Most Ontarians, at some point over the year, have even contributed to this environmental success. The result has been a taxpayer savings of $40 million. The Beer Store has been collecting empty beer containers since it opened in 1927, the same year Prohibition ended in Ontario. The return program, currently in its ninth decade of operation, has collected more than 75 billion beer containers to date. Despite high consumer levels of awareness regarding the deposit refund system, the environmental benefits are often less celebrated. This year’s stewardship report is full of information about the taxpayer and environmental benefits of the Beer Store’s world-class system. “Thanks to the involvement of Ontario consumers, the Beer Store and the brewers who use our system are able to reuse or recycle an average of 4,000 containers every minute of every day, every year,” noted Ted Moroz, the Beer Store President. “It’s a system that works to ensure our industry’s packaging is diverted from landfills and from being a burden on the Ontario taxpayer. It’s an environmental commitment unmatched by other retailers, in Ontario or elsewhere.” Yesterday, the Beer Store released Serving Ontarians and the Environment: Responsible Stewardship 2012-2013, its annual packaging stewardship report for primary and secondary alcohol packaging, which includes details on the Beer Store’s deposit return system for beer containers and the Ontario Deposit Return Program (ODRP) for wine, spirit and cooler containers. For the 52-week period ending April 28, 2013, the following environmental landmarks were achieved: Combined, the Beer Store’s beer container recovery program and the ODRP successfully: “Our environmental leadership -- which saves Ontario taxpayers over $40 million annually -- is just one example of how the Beer Store works for Ontario consumers,” noted Moroz. “Our award-winning deposit return system is a part of our business and one of our five core values as a retailer. We are very proud of our environmental record and the benefits that record delivers for Ontarians” “The Beer Store’s recycling results are outstanding,” said Ontario Environment Minister Jim Bradley. “Recycling used packaging is good for our environment and our economy. The Beer Store’s efforts mean more glass is recycled into new products such as new bottles and fiberglass insulation, rather than being wasted in landfills,” he said. To download a copy of Responsible Stewardship 2012-2013, please visit: www.thebeerstore.ca/tbs-environmental-report.html. For additional information, please contact: Brian Zeiler-Kligman Director, Sustainability Canada’s National Brewers (905) 361-4193 bz-k@nationalbrewers.ca