Environmental and financial harm

Environmental and financial harm

Annually, more than 2 billion containers with a deposit of $0.05 are marketed in Quebec, and 1.435 billion containers are recovered.

This means that 600 million soft drink containers are not recovered and will never be recycled. Where do these containers go? They needlessly fill our household garbage and end up in landfills. Otherwise, they are just thrown away and pollute the public areas of our cities, our forests, our lakes and our rivers.

And, by not claiming the deposit from lost or discarded containers, Quebecers lose $30 million annually in possible revenue.

Sale and Recovery of 5¢ Deposit Containers in Quebec for the Year 2022

 Number of returnable containers sold

2 277 567 798

Number of containers returned for the deposit

1 520 380 540

Curbside Recovery of Containers Not Returned for Deposit Refund

155 301 059

Rate of Recovery of 5¢ Deposit Containers

73.6 %

74.8 % Aluminum cans
62.9 % Plastic containers
86.6 % Glass containers

Approximate residential recovery rate

90 %

Approximate non-residential recovery rate

50 %

Number of containers discarded/lost

601 886 199

Number of containers discarded/lost per day

1 649 003

Monetary loss in unredeemed deposits per year

30 094 309.95 $

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