RECYCLING PROGRAMS
Beverage Container Recycling Program
Since 1997, MMSB has operated a province-wide Used Beverage Container Recycling Program that is administered as a deposit-refund system in accordance with specific parameters established under the Waste Management Regulations.The program is financed through an 8 cent consumer deposit on non-alcoholic beverage containers and a 20 cent consumer deposit on alcoholic beverage containers. Consumers receive a 5 cent refund for non-alcoholic containers and a 10 cent refund for alcoholic beverage containers returned to a Green Depot for recycling. Used beverage containers collected and recycled through the program include products sold in aluminum, glass, plastic, steel, and mixed fibre packages.
More than 160 million used beverage containers were collected and recycled in 2010-11 through a province-wide network of Green Depots that accept containers from the public. That's 2.8 million more containers than the year before, representing a record high since the program began in 1997.
Since the beginning of the program in 1997, over 1.8 billion used beverage containers have been diverted from waste disposal sites in all corners of our province.