This spring, Consignaction is launching a media campaign to raise public awareness of the effectiveness of deposit-refund. The campaign aims to reassure Quebecers about this recovery method, which enables 100% recycling of redeemable bottles and cans.

"When I return my redeemable bottle and can to the merchant, I can be sure that it will be 100% recycled," says the ad, which runs on several platforms, including TV, radio and social media. Consignaction's message concludes with the tagline: "La deposit-refund, c'est sûr."

No waste, no waste

"We can have complete confidence in the deposit-refund system, which recycles all recovered containers. This system has been tried and tested for 35 years. Returning redeemable containers dépanneur supermarkets is an activity that prevents waste of resources and is in line with the principles ofcircular economy,circular economysays Normand Bisson, president of Consignaction.

Some facts and figures

In Quebec, Consignaction manages to recover 76% of redeemable containers circulation each year. However, every day, more than 1.3 million returnable bottles and cans, whether made of glass, plastic, or aluminum, are thrown away and eventually end up in landfills.

• Redeemable cans and bottles returned to the merchant are 100% recycled.
• A aluminum can is infinitely recyclable without ever losing its properties
• There deposit-refund provides financial support to social organizations or people in need and has helped create thousands of jobs across Quebec.
• The energy saved by recycling a single plastic bottle can power a computer for 25 minutes.
• A plastic bottle can take up to 400 years to decompose in the environment.
• A aluminum can takes 200 to 500 years to decompose in the environment.

About Consignaction

Consignaction was set up by Boissons Gazeuses Environnement (BGE). The organization promotes various programs and initiatives to encourage consumers and businesses to recover redeemable bottles and cans, and to facilitate access to various infrastructures for the recovery of these containers.

About the deposit-refund

The deposit-refund system in Quebec has been in existence since 1984. It is a recovery system based on the temporary collection of a deposit when a container is sold. This deposit is refundable to encourage consumers to return their containers for recovery and recycling. In this way, a deposit-refund system represents no cost to the person returning the container. It is only the person who chooses to dispose of the container who incurs a financial cost. In Quebec, non-refillable aluminum, plastic and glass beer and soft-drink containers are all redeemable. deposit-refund ensures that containers returned to retailers are 100% recycled.