HomeMy WebLinkAboutHuron Expositor, 2007-06-06, Page 21News
The Huron Expositor • June 6, 2007 Page 21
Deposit
progra.m at
Beer St r
o e becoming new
. source of revenue for
Bluewater
Recycling
Bob Montgomery they've collected more than 40,000 "Glass is ... the glass bottles in
wine and liquor bottles from the particular anyway, a low revenue or
blue boxes, so it's clear that most perhaps even a cost to us," says
people aren't taking the empties Veilleux. "Where as if we get them
back for the deposit. out as a deposit container they actu-
Veilleux says most wine and ally become a very high revenue
liquor drinkers aren't willing to material."
make a special trip to the Beer And Veilleux says they haven't
Store just to get the deposit on their had to make any changes to their
bottles. And the result has been a normal operation or hire extra staff
new source of revenue for the to recover the bottles.
Bluewater Recycling Association. "Actually, we've been doing it for
The new provincial deposit pro-
gram on wine and liquor bottles
that's causing problems in Toronto
has turned out to be a bonus for the
Bluewater Recycling Association.
Toronto politicians claim they'll
lose millions of dollars, and they
want the provincial government to
reimburse them for that loss,
because the deposit program is tak-
ing glass out of their recycling sys-
tem.
The provincial program provides a
deposit on wine and liquor bottles.
But they have to be returned to the
Beer Store because LCBO stores are
not set up to handle returns.
The mayor of Toronto admits that
returning bottles is the environmen-
tally -friendly thing to do, but he
says the program will cost Toronto
millions of dollars in lost revenue by
reducing the amount of glass com-
ing into their Blue Box Program.
Francis Veilleux is the president
of the Bluewater Recycling
Association. He says the impact of
the new deposit program hasn't had
a dramatic impact on the amount of
glass they receive.
Veilleux says if 100 per cent of
liquor and wine bottles were taken
back to the Beer Store, he would see
a reduction of about 10 per cent in
the glass coming back to them in
the blue boxes.
But Veilleux says they've only
seen a drop of about .one per cent,
but since the deposit program was
implemented back in February,
Any concerns about
lead in water being
directed to health unit
From Page 1
water but if anyone has those concerns, he's directing them to call the
Huron County Health Unit.
He says the municipality is required to test the water for lead once a
year and those tests have never indicated lead as a concern in the
water.
David Blaney, chair of Huron East's water and sewer committee says
the municipality will not be testing for elevated lead levels in the water.
"We've been asking around and our oldest pipes are galvanized steel.
Our water systems are younger than those in Toronto and London," he
says.
"Lead piping is a factor of age and we know the distribution system
doesn't have lead pipes," says Blaney, adding that Huron East commu-
nities survived longer than most cities on wells and septic systems.
Mills says anyone concerned they may have lead pipes in their homes
should consult with a plumber.
Susan Hundertmark photo
Columbo Classic golf tournament organizers Brian Nigh, Cam Doig, Marc Robinet and Doug Fry present a
$4,000 cheque to Ken Papple, chair of the Seaforth and District Food Bank and hold a $1,000 cheque
that will go towards the Heart and Stroke Foundation. The money was raised during the recent annual
golf tournament:
years with beer bottles," says
Veilleux, "and we've been experi-
menting with wine and liquor bot-
tles since the program was imple-
mented in February."
Veilleux estimates that with a
visual inspection, they're probably
getting about one in four LCBO con-
tainers that are left in blue boxes.
Veilleux says it's entirely possible
that, as time goes on, more people
will start taking wine and liquor
bottles back for their deposit. But
he still doesn't expect it to have a
major impact on Bluewater's opera-
tion.
He says of the potential 10 per
cent loss of material, 50 per cent of
that would be glass. And glass is a
low revenue or even a cost item to
the association, so the loss wouldn't
be serious.
Veilleux says as it stands right
now, the deposit program has meant
the difference between a loss of
about $30 a ton, to a gain in rev-
enue of about $900 a ton, so they're
not upset about the deposit program
or the fact that most people aren't
using it.
He says most people won't make a
special trip to the Beer Store for a
20 -cent return on their bottle. It's
still easier to just put it in the blue
box. And either way wine and liquor
bottles are being diverted from land
fill sites and that's the ultimate
goal.
i 43/1
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