In the six-month period from May to October, Island consumers purchased over 32 million beverages, which represents more than 70% of the estimated 45 million containers projected to be purchased in the 11-month period ending in March 2009. The relatively high rates of consumption during the first six months are attributed to the displacement of purchases formerly made out of Province, the wider choice of products for Islanders and the lower pricing on soft drinks. This first six-month period also reflects higher volumes of tourism and traditionally higher beverage consumption over the summer months.

Islanders also appear to be supporting an environmentally friendly approach to the recovery and recycling of beverage containers, with a recovery rate trending in excess of 85%. This recovery and recycling rate is the highest in the country and running ahead of the Maritime average recovery rate of 73.9%. The preferred recovery method is the return-for-refund at the Beverage Container Depots, which account for 83% of all container recoveries, with 17% being recovered via the Blue Bag program. During peak periods, the Depots and Blue Bag operators handled in excess of 1,000,000 containers per week. Consumers that choose to forego their refund by placing their beverage containers in their Blue Bags are in effect making a modest financial contribution to future environmental programs, so consumers are reminded not to dispose of used beverage containers in their “black carts” which are intended for disposal of waste.

Approximately 50% of all beverages sold are in aluminum containers, which are recycled by Anheuser-Busch into new cans. PET plastic bottles account for 32% of all containers and are “flaked” for recycling into a wide array of materials ranging from fleece clothing to new beverage containers. The Island has received high ratings for the quality of our recycled containers, and Islanders can help to further improve the recycled value of these materials by removing caps (a contaminant) and by not placing garbage inside of beverage containers.

Under the BCMS system, each returnable container carries a 10 cent deposit – five cents of this is returnable to the consumer, while 2.5 cents goes to system costs and 2.5 cents returns to the provincial government in order to fund environmental projects. BCMS-related funding for environmental work is expected in the new year.

George Webster, Minister of Environment, Energy and Forestry said, “Our government is pleased that Islanders and our visitors appear to have responded positively to both the wider choice of beverage products and the efforts to recover and recycle these containers. I applaud the effort by all Islanders, our Depot and Blue Bag operators and our materials processor in leading the country in the recovery and recycling of used beverage containers.”