Since 1997, MMSB has operated a province-wide Used Beverage Container Recycling Program that is administered as a deposit-refund system in accordance with specific parameters established under the Waste Management Regulations.

The program is financed through a consumer deposit of 8 cents on non-alcoholic beverages and 20 cents on liquor containers. Consumers receive a 5 cent refund when a non-alcoholic container is returned to a Green Depot for recycling and 10 cents on liquor containers. Used beverage containers collected and recycled through the program include products sold in aluminum, glass, plastic, steel, and mixed fibre packages.

More than 139 million used beverage containers were collected and recycled in 2007-08 through a province-wide network of Green Depots that accept containers from the public. That ’s 4.3 million more containers than the year before, a record high since the program started in 1997. The overall recovery rate for used beverage containers also continues to grow every year and reached 68 per cent in 2007-08, the highest level achieved to date.

Since the inception of the program in 1997, almost 1.3 billion used beverage containers have been diverted from waste disposal sites in all corners of our province.

For more information see Beverage Container Recycling.

MMSB is committed to providing residents of Newfoundland and Labrador with convenient access to Green Depots. Currently, there are 39 main depots, 20 satellite depots and 17 mobile collection services offered by Green Depots. This system provides 88 per cent of the population with access to a recycling service within 20 kilometres (or approximately 15 minutes) of their home. Find a Green Depot near you.