Ministry of Consumer and Commercial Relations

August 31, 1998

Mr. John Jackson
Citizens' Network on Waste Management
17 Major Street
Kitchener, Ontario
N2H 4R9

Dear Mr. Jackson:

Thank you for your letter of August 5, 1998 regarding soft drink refillable regulations, and a Liquor Control Board of Ontario (LCBO) deposit-return system.

You may be aware that Honourable Norman W. Sterling, Minister of the Environment, is examining a recent report of the Recycling Council of Ontario, and is considering a number of options for dealing with waste management issues.

An LCBO deposit-return system must be viewed in the context of a broader waste management strategy. This strategy will have to take into account not only funding concerns, but factors such as customer convenience, to ensure that our waste diversion initiatives are as effective as possible.

You also may be interested to know that LCBO sales account for only 7.5% of all non-refillable beverage containers sold in the province. The remaining 92.5% (2.9 billion containers) are sold through other retailers. These figures place in perspective the actual impact of any LCBO deposit-return system.

The refillable soft drink regulations are regulations under the Environmental Protection Act, which, as you are aware, are the responsibility of the Minister of the Environment. Given your concerns, I have taken the liberty of forwarding your correspondence to the Minister of the Environment for his consideration.

Thank you for taking the time to express your views.

Yours Truly,


David H. Tsubouchi
Minister

Cc: Honourable Norman W. Sterling, Minister of the Environment

CNWM response to this letter