Mr. Speaker, I wonder how many members know that most of our provinces are leading the way on the recovery and recycling of empty beverage containers. In fact, almost every province recovers at least 73% of containers, saving municipalities millions of dollars per year.
However, in Ontario, Manitoba and for some containers in Quebec, recovery is much lower. In my own province of Ontario it is estimated that one billion aluminum pop cans end up in a landfill site; a huge cost to consumers, manufacturers and the environment.
As we move toward our Kyoto commitment, throwing away so much embodied energy is a wasted opportunity.
All provinces should be following the example of British Columbia, Alberta and New Brunswick where a unique version of deposit return is funded in part by the consumer who can choose not to redeem the container and forfeit the deposit.
I encourage all provinces to implement a similar deposit return program so that we can have a harmonized system.