The British Columbia Ministry of Environment, Lands & Parks recently sent a copy of draft regulations regarding beverage container stewardship to all businesses, brand owners, and other stakeholders who may have an interest in the proposed regulations. As a business which could be affected greatly by these regulations, Consumers Glass appreciated the opportunity to make comments to the Ministry about how we, as a leader in the area of Product Stewardship, see the situation.
Glass containers are made from abundant natural raw materials, are non-toxic, and are chemically inert. And of course, they are 100% recyclable. In fact, recycled glass containers are a direct substitute for the natural raw ingredients in the manufacture of new containers. This creates true, closed-loop recycling. Additionally, recycled glass containers have several other applications, besides being used in the manufacture of new containers.
Among these are:
All of this means that glass containers will meet the proposed regulations.
Consumers Glass will work with all of our customers, those businesses defined by the regulations as "brand owners", and any beverage container agency which they support, so they may fulfill the responsibilities of their stewardship plans in regard to the recycling of their glass containers.
In our response to the Ministry, we pointed out that the changes which these regulations will create for our business are completely unpredictable. Our future business decisions rely on the decisions made by our customers. Until we know what they will do, we cannot know what the subsequent changes to and for Consumers Glass may be. As stewards, we are concerned that any regulation applied to beverage containers be applied in a fair and equitable way, so that all parties are playing on a level field. Consumers Glass supports the proposal to require that every beverage sold in British Columbia be sold in a recyclable beverage container.
Consumers Glass is fully committed to Product Stewardship. In fact Consumers Glass championed the Partnership approach in 1990 that is now becoming the accepted approach to remove the remaining barriers facing recycling. We believe the partnership approach will enable a sustainable systems solution for our customers and our communities.
Doug Symington is Director of Public Affairs for Consumers Glass. He is available at 416-232-3214, by fax at 416-232-3274, or e-mail: dsymingt@consumersglass.com
Glass Works is a publication of Consumers Glass
Copyright © 1997 Glass Works