2023-04-25 17:22:17
The implementation of the reform of the deposit on beverage containers will be done in phases, the Legault government is now considering, a prospect that reassures retailers, who claimed that a wholesale entry into force would be a failure.
“It is an intention on which we are currently working”, confirmed to The Press the Minister of the Environment, the Fight Against Climate Change, Wildlife and Parks, Benoit Charette.
Quebec remains on course for the date of the 1is November to begin the implementation of its reform, but now proposes to start with aluminum containers and to wait “in the months that follow” to add other materials, such as plastic, glass and multilayer containers, which are used, for example, to bottle milk.
” Electronics [pour récolter les contenants en aluminium] are already in place, are already able to receive these containers. This is the simplest step,” explained Minister Charette.
The instruction on the other types of containers would follow in one or two additional phases, specifies the minister, who will decide the question “in the coming weeks”; the required regulatory amendments will then have to be adopted by the Council of Ministers.
“There have been various pilot projects over the past year and a half. There are lessons to be learned from these pilot projects”, justified the minister, saying he wanted to avoid that a too rapid expansion of the deposit results in failures.
“We especially want to avoid a frustrating experience for consumers who would have difficulty getting a refund for the deposit paid,” he said, referring in particular to the major logistical issues, for the development of spaces reserved for the recovery of containers. and the establishment of transport routes.
We are making very encouraging progress, but we are going to give ourselves a few more months in some cases to ensure the success of the operation.
Benoit Charette
Extending the deposit to all beverage containers from 100 milliliters to 2 liters will double the number of returnable containers, from 2.5 billion to 5 billion per year in Quebec.
Its entry into force was initially scheduled for the fall of 2022, but had been postponed.
The Quebec Food Retailers Association (ADAQ), which called for a further postponement to 1is January 2025 to avoid “the network crashing” from day one, welcomes the Minister’s proposal.
“We are happy, declared to The Press its vice-president Stéphane Lacasse. It gives us more time. »
However, Minister Benoit Charette warns that the gradual expansion will take place more quickly than the ADAQ wanted: “It will not be 2025”.
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