Greenwash Watch: More Greenwashing from the LCBO

I live in Ontario and I love the LCBO and beer store, for two reasons:

1. The selection is astonishing. I challenge you to come into one of our beer or liquor stores and not be dazzled by the sheer selection of brands, types, quality ... in other places I've been, sure you can buy beer at the corner store, but if you don't like the three brands that are there, what do you do?

2. The Beer Store has the most successful recycling program I've ever seen, an enormous proportion of the packaging they sell is brought back and reused (bottles sterilized and refilled) or recycled (as high-quality glass). This includes recapturing 98% of industry-standard bottles. This is because of the deposit that we pay on our beer, and get back when we return the bottles. Also, they have just made all bottles sold at the LCBO (wine, spirits, fancy beer) returnable as well.

"It is estimated the new system will prevent 30 tons of glass -- or 80 million bottles -- from going into landfill every year." - from here

Altho those bottles can still be put in the municipal recycling system, returning it for deposit results in much higher quality recycled glass for sale, and much less ultimately going to landfill. For what it's worth, it is extremely rare to see a beer container lying around as litter.

Could we capture this much beer-related waste if the state didn't own the Beer Store?

What objections do you have to the LCBO and Beer Store, except that it seems communist to you?

LA: I love the beer store, and it is not owned by the LCBO, it is owned by the brewers. They have a fabulous recycling system that should be emulated by everyone. When the province insisted that the LCBO start recycling what happens? you take the bottles to the Beer Store, which is just dumb, you should be able to take them back to the place where you bought them. You can buy returnable beer bottles at the LCBO, but you can't take them back there.

There are a lot of things that government does very well, but should they be marketing and selling liquor?

I live in Ontario.

The LCBO does have many many problems, but there is one good thing- all the pofits go to the governmnt to provide services to the citizens. Last year they made over 1 Billion in profits. That means that is money that can be used to support people in Ontario who need it.

I agree that it is greenwashing, but its a step in the right direction. Some people who do not stay current on news, but get the magazine, will begin to open thier eyes to greening thier lives.

The other way of seeing it is that if the govt is reconising the green movement, even as small a change as they are doping, should we not applaud it? It is a step in the right direction, just as Walmart is doing.

All awareness starts with small changes. They will then be open to bigger changes later.

Its not perfect but its a begining.

Just so you Ontarioans don't feel too bad: Pennsylvania also sells liquor through state stores, but beer can be sold through distributors that must be licensed by the state.

I found this from "Solid Waste and Recycling" about how tetrapaks are a plot to corner the market for private label wines at the expense of Ontario vintners, much of whose wine cannot be found on the shelves.

In combination with the other documents, the agenda behind the LCBO's Tetra Pak initiative is clear. This isn't about improved environmental performance, and it isn’t even about avoiding a deposit-refund system, or avoiding blue box fees (although those might be side benefits). This is about the LCBO creating a new wine category that is highly profitable for it. The LCBO is shifting from being a distributor and vendor of wines into being producer of sorts -- stage managing the bulk import of wine and coordinating the packaging of it in Tetra Paks, and then selling the wine in Ontario with enormous margins.

This shift raises important policy issues for the government and for wine producers. Do we want this monopoly wholesale and retail entity now engaging in this kind of activity? What of the impact of the LCBO’s “abuse of dominance” to Ontario wine producers? As an aside, it’s worth thinking about the fact that the LCBO says that French Rabbit in Tetra Paks was the most successful launch in its history – not surprising given the LCBO’s heavy subsidization of the launch. Why did the Ontario government’s sanctioned wine and spirit vendor invest in the launch of a foreign wine and not an Ontario product and why is the LCBO now allowed to engage in heavy employee and consumer inducements to keep pushing French Rabbit now that its sales volumes have tanked? The implications are chilling for Ontario producers.)

Whether or not policymakers approve of the LCBO’s new commercial plan, it seems to me that it’s ridiculous for the LCBO to deny that this is going on.

Consider that these proposed Tetra Pak facilities will package imported bulk wines (in addition to local products). Under the federal Importation of Intoxicating Liquors Act the LCBO must be the import agent, which means that it is the de facto brand-owner of the imported bulk wine. The LCBO is more than a little conflicted here.

It’s my contention that the Tetra Pak program is not about protecting the environment, but rather that environmental protection (as is often the case in our society) is being used as a “fig leaf” for the LCBO’s commercial agenda, which is sponsorship of the production of products that will become its “house brands.” This is analogous to those “private label” soft drinks and other items you see in grocery stores, such as Loblaws’ “Presidents Choice” line of products. These afford the grocery chain higher profit margins at the expense of national brands. This is good and well in the world of supermarkets, but we really must pause and reflect upon the implications of a government-sanctioned monopoly for liquor engaging in this.

Again, this relates to the “private-label” recommendation in the documents. If the LCBO also has complete discretion in how these bulk imported wines are marked-up for sale (the “pricing” recommendation) they will be enormously profitable -- bought at low bulk prices and shipped over in container ships, likely in large “bladders” the size of a tractor-trailer container, poured into Tetra Paks and marked-up as "premium" wines. Note the LCBO’s ongoing communications positioning Tetra Paks as a “premium package” and the conditions (in the 3rd attachment’s last paragraph) being placed on listing new wine products by Ontario vintners. Essentially the LCBO is telling local producers that if they want their new products put on shelves, put them in Tetra Paks. Otherwise, you can only add a new product by taking an old one off the shelf.

For Ontario wine producers this should be highly alarming. The LCBO will have an economic incentive to give preferential treatment (more and better shelf space in its stores) to its imported bulk products. Even if Ontario producers choose Tetra Paks, they will have to be price competitive with bulk wine imported cheaply and sold as premium wine. Ontario wine producers already face competition from low cost and highly subsidized producers such as those in South America. There is in fact a global glut of wine production. Now they’ll potentially face direct competition from their own local liquor monopoly!

This agenda to drive subsidized imported wines will have some very serious implications to Ontario wine producers. Of note is Deloitte Touch’s disclaimer on page 3: “..the potentially largest opportunities are related to pricing, product costs and vendor funding which have significant policy implications which are beyond the scope of this review.”

Who looked at the economic and environment “policy implications” prior to the LCBO embarking on this initiative, and is anybody going to?

1. The selection is astonishing.

No, I find it to be somewhat insular. It's certainly stocked with an eye toward promoting Ontario business. In particular, the beer selection is heavily weighted... missing are any and all of the great nearby microbrews from the States and Quebec. And I speak as someone who lives within walking distance of the flagship LCBO in Toronto at the old train station at Yonge near the Summerhill TTC stop.

2. The Beer Store

The Beer Store isn't run by the LCBO, it's run by a consortium of breweries.

And as far as government-run liquor stores are concerned, Ontario isn't alone, look at New Hampshire, for example.

My understanding is that Tetrapaks are recyclable in Toronto. I have no opinion as far as the wine side of things goes (having to avoid it due to allergy issues), but have been recycling my soup and broth Tetrapaks for some time.

no Mouse, you have been putting your tetrapacks into your blue bin for some time... you haven't been recycling them. I have actually worked at the recycling plant just outside of Toronto and can tell you that tetrapacks get treated like #3, #4. #5. #6 and #7 plastics. They get picked up in a blue bin, then driven out of the GTA to get sorted (Ajax or if lucky the DOwnsview plant) then they get put on a conveyor belt, pass through glass removing, pass through the magnets (to get the tin) then past all the human sorters (who are taking out #1 #2 plastics and the "recyclable" paper... then they go down a chute, onto the next conveyor belt, they get sent onto a truck and shiipped off to Michgan to the landfill. Tetrapaks are "recyclable where facilities exist" but those do not exist in Toronto.... just because you can put it into your blue box does not at all mean it gets recycled, sorry.

According to the City of Ottawa website, you can not only recycle tetra paks, but you can also return them to the Beer STore for a refund of the LCBO deposit. (see below)
Return your empty LCBO containers for refund to The Beer Store
NEW! All wine, beer and spirit containers greater than 100 ml in size purchased in Ontario on or after February 5, 2007, should be returned to The Beer Store for a full deposit refund. This includes glass bottles, bag-in-box, Tetra Pak containers, plastic bottles (PET), and aluminum and steel containers on which deposits have been charged. Find your local return location on the Ontario Deposit Return Program Web site at bagitback.ca.

ACCEPTABLE
Glass
Bottles and jars
Metal
Metal cans
Soft drink cans
Aluminum containers
Clean foil
Empty paint cans with lids removed
Plastic
Plastic bottles, jars and jugs
Tubs and tub lids (yogurt, sour cream, hand cleaner, margarine containers)
Milk and juice cartons
Tetra Pak
Drink Boxes
Soup Boxes