Starting in November, British Columbians who return empty cans at Return-It depots will be walking away with a bit more money in their pocket.
Return-It announced Wednesday that all non-alcoholic beverage containers one litre or smaller will be worth 10 cents instead of the current 5 cents at its locations across the province, beginning Nov. 1. This will include soft drinks, juice, water, energy and sport drinks.
The announcement, which coincides with national Waste Reduction Week, will hopefully encourage people to recycle more containers and keep plastic and aluminum out of B.C. landfills and oceans, Return-It CEO Allen Langdon said in a news release.
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“B.C. is already a leader when it comes to protecting our environment and being at the forefront of industry product stewardship,” he said. “The increase we are announcing today is an important step forward to optimize our system and increase recovery rates.”
Return-It recycles approximately 1 billion beverage containers every year, according to its statistics.
Following consultation on the province’s action plan on plastic, the Ministry of Environment is currently considering a unified depot rate of 10 cents on all beverage containers in the future.
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