Press Release

MP Judy Sgro congratulates Premier Dalton McGuinty for environmental leadership regarding deposit-return for LCBO packaging

September 10, 2006

Hon. Judy Sgro, Member of Parliament for York West congratulates Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty for his landmark policy decision to implement an LCBO deposit-refund system. Through the Premier's leadership the LCBO — a crown corporation, the world's largest purchaser of beverage alcohol and largest single source of recyclable glass — will now take responsibility for ensuring a high rate of recovery and recycling of all of its products.

"While the blue box has been a great success, it is time to improve it, to enhance its environmental performance while putting the responsibility — both environmental and financial — for recycling of products and packaging on producers, sellers and their customers." says MP Judy Sgro adding, "An LCBO deposit-refund system does just that."

Hon. Judy Sgro is Ontario's longest-standing political advocate for extended producer responsibility (EPR) and for deposit-refund systems as a way to increase the recovery and recycling of beverage containers. In 1996 as a Metro Toronto Councillor she requested the first full detailed cost assessment of the City's blue box system with a view on how best to increase recovery and recycling of materials at least cost to municipal taxpayers. In 1998 as a City of Toronto Councillor she proposed and led the adoption by City Council of a by-law mandating that LCBO stores operating in Toronto recover their wine and spirit containers through a deposit-refund system — a bylaw that was quashed by the provincial government of that time.

"It is very encouraging to see environmental leadership of this kind." says Judy Sgro adding, "It is the cumulative result of efforts like this that are going to move Ontario forward on waste reduction, reuse and recycling and away from waste disposal. Kudos Premier McGuinty!"

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For more information, contact:

Office of Hon. Judy Sgro, P.C., M.P., York West
(613) 992-7774