New Deposit Refund Initiative for BC

After years of lobbying by environmentalists and consumer groups, the provincial government has finally moved forward in developing and introducing a deposit refund system (DRS) for most beverage containers. This initiative will be a regulation under the Waste Management Act. It will come into effect April 1998, and will include all ready-to-drink beverages except milk and milk substitutes. Currently, approximately 360 million non-milk beverage containers are sold in BC each year, and 80 per cent of these containers end up in landfills.

Beginning in April, 2000, beverage container producers will be required to meet minimum recovery rates and starting in 1998, they will be required to submit annual reports documenting beverage product sales and container recovery rates.

BC was once a DRS pioneer

BC led the way in North America when it introduced a deposit-refund system for beer, cider, coolers and some other beverages in 1970. But today, BC lags behind seven other provinces that already have comprehensive deposit-refund regimes for most beverage containers: Alberta, Saskatchewan, Yukon Territories, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Newfoundland and PEI.

The new expanded system, still in development, will shift from a primarily retail-based collection system to a permanent province-wide private sector depot system, and will include a number of collection methods such as reverse-vending machines and mobile collection depots. A shift from point-of-purchase return to depot collection will only occur if there is sufficient demonstrated consumer confidence in the depot system. Over the next year, industry will be required to submit proposals for collection methods and depots.

While BC wineries and fruit juice producers have been trying to block an expanded DRS, soft drink companies have been quietly and steadily building the infrastructure for an efficient refund-return system throughout the province. Encorp Pacific, the agent for soft drink companies, already provides a small handling commission to independent operators at more than 120 independently-owned bottle depots across the province.

These depots are now handling more than half of the soft drink bottle returns in the province (the other half goes to returns at the point-of-purchase). The combination of these two points of return makes for a recycling rate of 85 per cent of all soft drink containers, and the depots can be easily adapted to accept other beverage containers.

Critical role for new Board

A Container Management Board will administer the new deposit refund system. The Board will include representatives from beverage producers, depot operators, retailers, provincial and local governments, consumer groups and environmental organizations. The Recycling Council of BC (RCBC), the most vocal and active advocate for an expanded DRS, says that the structure and mandate of this Board will play a critical role in the development and administration of this expanded system.

RCBC has been calling for an improved DRS for many years, and recently presented the province with a petition with over 30,000 signatures for such a system. A recent poll conducted on the RCBC Recycling Hotline gathered 98 per cent support for an expanded DRS.

Milk and milk substitutes are excluded

Milk jugs and milk substitutes are exempted from the regulation. This exemption is common to systems in other jurisdictions, and reflects an historical anomaly. Whether it represents diligent lobbying by the dairy industry, or a real concern that this "basic foodstuff" not be made inaccessible by the imposition of a nominal deposit, is debatable. What is certain is that only 20 per cent of plastic milk jugs are now recycled at curbside. In jurisdictions that have imposed a deposit on milk jugs, the return rate skyrockets to 80 per cent. Prior to the April announcement of the new BC DRS, advocates were calling for BC once again to take a leadership role in deposit refunds by including milk containers in the DRS; unfortunately, the province has chosen not to take that step.

For more information on beverage DRS, see the May 1996 issue of Reiterate, the newsletter of the Recycling Council of BC. This issue includes a look at DRS in other jurisdictions across Canada. You can reach the RCBC at (604) 683-6009, or visit their web site at http://www.rcbc.bc.ca.

EDRF Update

Reach for Unbleached! received financial support for its attempts to halt the use of pulp mill sludge used as a "soil enhancer." Pulp mill sludge that has received secondary treatment is used on reforested land. The treated sludge is spread, tilled in and trees are grown in the amended soil. Reach for Unbleached is concerned that without stringent provincial standards for sludge components, there is a potential for contaminated groundwater and crops grown on sludge-treated land. Funding will provide for analytical testing of sludge, and participation in a provincial consultation process. It will also provide legal assistance for the appeal of a Waste Management Permit, allowing land disposal of sludge.

The Friends of the Similkameen Valley. In the summer of 1996, Metalex Products Ltd. began trucking slag from its battery smelting recycling process in Richmond to the Dankoe Mine near Keremeos and dumping the battery slag into a mine tailing pond. Metalex had no permit for dumping this slag. Chemical analysis was done and the slag was classified as "special waste" — that is, waste that contained cadmium and lead. Based on the results of the tests, the Ministry of Environment issued a pollution prevention order in August of 1996 and ordered that the slag be removed. Metalex appealed, and the Director of Waste Management ordered that there be no further deposit of slag, but that the slag already deposited could remain on the site until a proper risk assessment was completed.

The slag is still at the Dankoe Mine site. The tailing pond drains into groundwater and in turn, into the Similkameen River. The area around Keremeos is mainly agricultural, with many organic farms, and local farmers fear that this "special waste" may contaminate water used for both domestic and agricultural purposes. EDRF funds will provide for legal counsel to assist local residents in their efforts to remove the slag and ensure safety of their water.

The Nechako Environmental Coalition. Last year the Coalition appealed to the Environmental Appeal Board regarding an air emissions permit amendment for the Canfor plant in Prince George. The EAB's decision substantially amended Canfor's permit to address NEC's concerns which included increased monitoring standards, and public access to monitoring results. However, an Order in Council varied the Board decision. EDRF funding has enabled the Coalition to retain legal counsel and consider a judicial review of the decision.

The Cowichan Estuary Preservation Society is trying to halt the dumping of pulp mill waste into the Chemainus/Cowichan estuary. The Society is concerned that this dumping has an adverse impact on fish and fish habitat in the estuary. Funds have enabled CEPS to retain legal counsel to assist in ongoing negotiations with government regulators and hire an environmental consultant to sample and assess soil in the estuary.

The Peace Country Environmental Protection Association received financial support to apply to re-open the EAB appeal of Louisiana-Pacific's air emissions permit. New emissions monitoring data revealed that formaldehyde emissions were one hundred times greater than were reported during the original EAB hearing. The Association is requesting that the EAB not render a decision on the requested permit amendments until the new formaldehyde results can be addressed. EDRF funding has enabled PCEPA to retain legal counsel for the EAB reconsideration hearing.

Conservancy Hornby Island's attempts to negotiate with a residential developer and protect the endangered Garry Oak grove failed. EDRF funds enabled the Conservancy to apply to court to vary the development proposal.

The Friends of the Stikine received a supplementary grant to enable them to continue research regarding private prosecutions under the Fisheries Act. The Society is attempting to ensure that the ore-hauling hovercraft operation on the Stikine and Iskut Rivers is halted to protect fish habitat and sensitive spawning grounds. FOS also received support to participate in the Cassiar/Iskut/Stikine Local Resource Management Plan.

Concerned Citizens of Mill Bay. The community of Mill Bay relies on an aquifer for its water supply. Recently, the Cowichan Valley Regional District rezoned 76 acres of land from forest to urban residential (F1 to R3) and approved a development proposal for a 400 home subdivision without a public hearing. The 76 acres in question is situated on the Mill Bay aquifer. EDRF funding has allowed the residents to obtain legal assistance and launch a court challenge to the legality of the rezoning approval.

Fairfield Citizens for Safe Air. This group of residents of a small, older apartment complex in Victoria are concerned about the health effects of fumes from a neighbouring gas station. When the station's holding tanks are filled, gasoline fumes vent into the apartment building. In spite on ongoing negotiations with the gasoline company and gas station management, the residents have been unable to resolve the problem. EDRF funding has enabled them to obtain legal advice and expert assistance to monitor emissions.

Environmental Watch received supplementary funding to commence a private prosecution of Howe Sound Pulp and Paper Ltd. The mill, which operates in Port Mellon, has been frequently out of compliance with its air emissions permit. Environmental Watch has launched an appeal to the Environmental Appeal Board regarding the company's request for an increase of up to 300% in its air emissions permit quota for SO₂. Environmental Watch believes that rather than permitting more pollution, the company should be required to lower its air emissions, and meet the original permitted level.

Fish Protection Act to be introduced The Fish Protection Act will be introduced into the provincial Legislature this week, and will create new legal mechanisms to protect fish habitat. West Coast's critique of the Act will be available soon. For more information, please contact Linda Nowlan at (604) 601-2509, or via email at lnowlan@wcel.org.

The Federal Election — an Environmental Review

Reprinted from "The Canadian Environ-mental BusinessLetter" of May 7, 1997, published by Copp Clark.

The Tories would eliminate the federal Ministry of Environment. The Block Quebecois promotes separate environmental protection. The Reform Party wants to take most environmental protection out of the hands of the federal government. The Liberals promise to pass the Canadian Environmental Protection Act — the one they let lapse on the order paper. The NDP would again become the "green party".

This is what we learned from reviewing the environmental platforms of the parties in the federal election. Probably the greatest shocker was Jean Charest's commitment to folding Environment Canada into a new super ministry led by Natural Resources Canada, the Ministry of Agriculture, and the Department of Fisheries and Oceans. It is well known that Natural Resources Canada, the most powerful of the four ministries, has been a strong opponent to Environment Canada initiatives — blocking global warming commitments, advocating for the mining industry against stronger environmental legislation, and trying to weaken the environmental assessment process. The Tories, in addition, would cut $43 million in environmental protection funding.

The Reform Party surprisingly has a number of excellent environmental proposals. However, they are lost when it becomes clear that Reform wants to redefine sustainable development as economic development unfettered by federal regulations. The Reform Party states that it does "support a Multipartite Round Table approach to environment and economy, as a means of finding common ground and building consensus in the development of measures to deal with environmental issues." However, upon closer scrutiny we find that this is a another way of describing a "go slow" and somewhat ineffectual approach to environmental protection.

The NDP re-established itself as the party of environmental protection by defining a strong platform. The NDP would "fight for a strong Canadian Environmental Protection Act". It would provide "a green screen to integrate environmental criteria into all public decision making". The NDP would set specific pollution control targets and enforce them. It would ensure Canada meets its international environmental agreements. The only questions is, if the NDP were to assume power as it did in Ontario and BC, would it leave its commitments unfulfilled as happened there?

With the Liberals, while the other parties committed two pages or less to their environmental platform, the Liberals dedicated a six-page chapter to environmental protection. While much of it was aimed at bragging about its record, like launching the Technology Partnerships Canada (TPC) Fund, passing the environmental assessment act, and implementing small measures to level the tax playing field for environmental equipment, it did promise several initiatives.

The Liberals promised to pass the new Canadian Environmental Protection Act, in spite of tough opposition. The Party would get serious about meeting its international commitments to reducing global warming gas emissions. And it would create a dedicated stream of funding for environmental technologies in its Technology Partnerships Fund. What is missing are the commitments by the Liberals to implement the remainder of the promises in the original "Red Book" — e.g., a commitment of 25% of all new government funding for research and development into environmental technologies and a commitment to legally recognize intervenor funding for the public in environmental assessment processes.

Check the parties' websites on the election platforms:

• Progressive Conservative: http://www.pcparty.ca/english/engplatf.htm

• Reform Party: http://www.reform.ca/

• New Democratic Party: http://fed.ndp.ca/fndp/election97/english/Platform/platform.html

• Liberal Party: http://www.liberal.ca/plan/index_e.htm