Major changes to Ontario’s away-from-home beverage container collection system

On Friday, July 7, 2023, the Canadian Beverage Container Recycling Association (CBCRA) shared a notice with all its signed members that everyone will have the ability to withdraw from the program over the course of the next week. Members who withdraw will have to pay Circular Materials (CM) fees directly for beverages and will not be charged the CBCRA Container Recycling Fee (CRF).

This announcement comes on the coattails of a CBCRA member notice on July 1, 2023, sharing that CBCRA may cease operations in Ontario as of 2024, depending on the outcome of Ontario’s Deposit Return System (DRS) consultation.

For producers interested in remaining with CBCRA, they plan to run a small-scale beverage container program in Ontario between July 31 and December 31, 2023. 

In order to launch the Ontario expansion of beverage container collection, CBCRA leveraged its operations in Manitoba for start-up costs. For costs outstanding (some $4.9 million), CBCRA’s intention is to issue a voluntary invoice to all Manitoba beverage producers with operations in Ontario, based on their percentage beverage market share in Manitoba. It is unclear how CBCRA intents to treat companies who had not signed a CBCRA agreement; likely, the voluntary invoice will still be issued to those companies.