Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

FAQs - Print Version

1. What is Manitoba’s 75% beverage container recovery target?
   
   The Government of Manitoba established a 75% recovery target as part of the Guideline accompanying the Packaging and Printed Paper Regulation enacted in December 2008.  This target requires obligated beverage producers to achieve a 75% recovery rate for all used beverage containers supplied into Manitoba.
   
2. What is the purpose of the CBCRA Program Plan? The CBCRA Program Plan sets forth how CBCRA is proceeding to achieve the 75% recovery target. 
   
   This involves a broad awareness campaign, ensuring that effective collection systems are created or solidified in all of the areas or channels in which beverage containers are generated.
   
   
3. What are CBCRA’s goals and objectives?
   
   This program is designed with one over-riding objective in mind: to ensure that beverage containers meet, at the minimum, the diversion target of 75% established under the Guideline.
   
   
4. What are CBCRA’s core principles?
   
   CBCRA’s core principles include:
   
   
• Industry managed stewardship - not only do producers share in the cost; they also actively work to improve systems and increase effectiveness
• Effective and efficient program delivery – being effective and efficient benefits everyone
• Equitable cost sharing – no cross-subsidization and a level playing field for all
• Organizational transparency – CBCRA will consult with stakeholders and will publish its financial statements and performance metrics annually
  
  
5. How is CBCRA governed?
   
   The CBCRA Board consists of experienced representatives from the soft drink, juice, bottled water, dairy, and retail sectors.  Combined, these members have served on many different beverage stewardship boards across Canada.
   
   
6. What is required to achieve the 75% target?
   
   CBCRA will need to increase the recovery of beverage containers from its current recovery rate of less than 50% to 75%.  This is a very large undertaking and will require millions of dollars in infrastructure, as well as the cooperation of municipalities and consumers.  Consumers will need to be educated about the value inherent in beverage containers, especially aluminum and plastic, and about the environmental cost of disposing or littering these containers.
   
   
7. Who is responsible for achieving the 75% target?
   
   The producers of sealed ready-to-serve beverages are responsible for achieving the 75% recovery target established by the Manitoba Government.
   
   
8. What are the benefits of collecting beverage containers from many channels?
   
   When a beverage is purchased by a consumer it is not certain where it will be consumed or disposed.  What is known is that beverage containers end up in various channels: recreational facilities, parks, residences, public buildings, etc.  It is also known through pilots and other studies that consumers will not carry empty packaging of any kind very far before they dispose of it. Therefore, the more possibilities Manitobans have to conveniently recycle their empty beverage containers wherever they are, the greater the recovery rate.  Additionally, greater recycling convenience will have a halo effect on the residential collection system; increased recycling behaviour outside the home will result in increased at-home recycling.
   
   
9. Who are the CBCRA participants?
   
   CBCRA participants are producers of sealed ready-to-serve beverages supplied into Manitoba.  CBCRA currently represents approximately 90% of the beverage containers supplied in Manitoba.
   
   
10. What will it cost to put in place an extensive public space collection channel?
    
    The answer depends on the type of bins used and the speed of the roll-out.  We do know that it will cost millions of dollars to put this in place but the beverage industry is committed to doing this right.
    
    
11. How are municipal partners involved? |
    
    At this point, over 100 municipal partnerships have been signed and most of them already have bins in place.
    
    
12. How are small commercial and institutional partners involved?
    
    CBCRA is offering small commercial establishments (e.g. convenience stores and gas stations, shopping malls, etc.) expensive, long lasting beverage container recycling bins at no cost.  The commercial establishment must contract for the collection of this material as these businesses currently pay for all of their waste management costs. 
    
    
13. What can this mean for public and Government buildings?
    
    A tentative plan has been discussed with Green Manitoba for the assessment, roll-out, and measurement of beverage container recovery (pre and post waste audits).  CBCRA is willing to consider contracting out this portion of the program to Green Manitoba.
    
    
14. What materials are collected?
    
    All used, sealed ready-to-serve beverage containers are eligible for the program; this includes aluminum, PET, HDPE, aseptic packages, and gable-top. 
    
    
15. What dairy products are included in the program?
    
    CBCRA has agreed that dairy beverages will be phased in at a later date.  All producers and retailers will be given 90 days’ notice before dairy beverage products are included.
    
    
16. What is a CRF?
    
    A CRF is a Container Recycling Fee.  This fee is used to pay for the cost of collecting and processing (recycling) beverage containers wherever they are generated including all of the various away-from-home and at-home locations.
    
    
17. Who is charged the CRF?
    
    Producers of beverage containers are charged the CRF and they remit this to CBCRA in the month after the containers are supplied into Manitoba.
    
    
18. But are consumers not charged this CRF?
    
    CBCRA charges the CRF to the producers; however, the producers can, at their discretion, pass that recycling fee on to their customer – the retailer. The retailer can then, at their discretion, pass the recycling fee on to the consumer.  We are aware that most, if not all, of the producers are passing this fee on to the retailer and most of the retailers are passing it on to the consumer.
    
    Manitoba Conservation has expressed a strong desire to see consistent application of recycling fees across the province to reduce consumer confusion and CBCRA has committed to this in the Program Plan.
    
    
19. What are the benefits of consumers seeing a CRF when they purchase a beverage container?
    
    For Manitoba consumers, there is a strong association between the recycling fee they pay at the point of purchase and knowing that these funds are used for recycling.  This is a very positive signal for consumers, a fact supported by third-party consumer research conducted in Manitoba.  The Consumers Association of Canada – Manitoba also supports the concept of a visible recycling fee.
    
    
20. Have you conducted consumer research on this issue?
    
    Consumer research conducted in Manitoba by a third-party firm in 2011, which included a broad public survey as well as specific focus groups, showed that the majority of people were in favour of visible fees that were directly related to the cost of recycling that material.  It also showed that 80% of the public preferred the CBCRA system to a deposit return system. 
    
    
21. Will the CRF amount ever change? 
    
    The CRF is designed to cover the costs of recycling beverage containers from all collection streams.  The CRF will be adjusted, likely on an annual basis, based on the overall cost of the program as well as the differential cost of recycling (e.g. aluminum cans vs. PET bottles vs. glass bottles).  The intention is that each material type should pay for the costs to manage that type of container.
    
    
22. What is the methodology for changing the CRF?
    
    CBCRA will first determine the net cost to manage all of the material in all collection channels.  Then, through the use of activity based costing, the differential cost will be allocated for managing the different sizes and types of material.  The material-specific CRF rate will be a function of total cost allocated to that material group divided by total expected sales for that material group. Expected sales will be based on prior year quantities as reported by CBCRA participants.  These rates will be subject to an annual review.  The CBCRA external auditors will be involved in the review of fees each year.
    
    
23. How is that change communicated?
    
    After the CBCRA Audit Committee and Board of Directors  have approved the new CRF rates as recommended by management, these new rates (or if not changed, the existing rates) will be communicated to Government 90 days before the new CRF rates take effect.  The same rates will be communicated to all CBCRA participants 60 days in advance of any changes.
    
    
24. In what channels are beverage containers collected?
    
    Beverage containers are collected from a number of different channels depending on where the container is generated or where the beverage is consumed.  This includes open or public spaces (e.g. city parks, public buildings like municipal or provincial buildings), small commercial establishments like restaurants and convenience stores, residential areas, recreation centres like pools, arenas, etc.  CBCRA is willing to provide bins for its municipal and business partners provided those partners can assure CBCRA that beverage containers are generated in those areas.
    
    
25. How does CBCRA relate to Multi-Material Stewardship Manitoba (MMSM)?
    
    MMSM and CBCRA have a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) signed in 2010 that outlines their respective responsibilities and relationship.  Both MMSM and CBCRA acknowledge that beverage producers and consumers are responsible to achieve the 75% recovery target no matter where the beverage container is consumed.  To reduce the administrative burden for stewards, CBCRA and MMSM have agreed that CBCRA may provide funds to MMSM for the beverage producers’ obligation for residential collection of beverage containers.  The beverage producers pay one CRF to CBCRA which covers the cost of recycling beverage containers from all collection channels.  MMSM has a very similar arrangement with the newspaper sector whereby another entity collects funds from consumers and pays MMSM for the newspapers’ obligation.
    
    
26. How will this impact other recycling programs?
    
    This results in administrative and reporting efficiency as MMSM will no longer need an enhanced beverage container fee and will not need to track the recovery of beverage containers. Additionally, experience so far has shown that the heightened awareness resulting from the CBCRA program has helped increase the level of recycling in the MMSM program. 
    
    
27. What is the scope of the CBCRA awareness program?
    
    CBCRA has established a broad communication strategy including the use of billboards, newsprint, radio, earned media, and collaboration with MMSM to ensure that the MMSM and CBCRA messaging are coordinated for maximum effectiveness.
    
    
28. What is Recycle Everywhere?
    
    Recycle Everywhere is CBCRA’s branded away-from-home recycling program.  The awareness campaign is entirely branded as Recycle Everywhere.  The goal is to have this brand identity become so well known that Manitobans, whether they see a beverage container recycling bin in an arena, a small town, a park, a public building, or streetscape, will immediately know that this bin is where they will place their empty beverage container. 
    
    
29. Will this take away work from local recyclers?
    
    No, it will not take away work from local recyclers. In fact, it will significantly increase the amount of work that entrepreneurial collection and processing firms will be able to do.  Private firms already collect recyclables from many private and some public buildings and these opportunities will only increase.
    
    
30. How will the recovery of beverage containers be tracked?
    
    A Material Tracking System (MTS) has been established to enable recyclers and brokers that export beverage containers outside of the province to report their volumes.  It should be noted that with the exception of glass containers all used beverage containers are sent out-of-province for final processing.