Public Works Committee approves Request for the Expansion of Ontario's Deposit-Return Program 12-0

Public Works Committee voted 12 to 0, with 2 absent on Request for the Expansion of Ontario’s Deposit-Return Program at its Monday, August 31, 2026 meeting. The motion carried.

The motion, as recorded in the minutes:

expanded and more effective Deposit Return System that includes non- alcoholic beverage containers. A workable solution to reform the existing Deposit Return System will help boost the province's beverage recovery rate and support overall diversion of recycling materials away from landfills.”; WHEREAS, the Canadian Beverage Association is in full support of a deposit-return system because according to the CBA the transition to Circular Materials has not resulted in an increase in materials being recycled, and a deposit-return system promotes higher recycling rates, reduces litter and environmental impact, and helps ensure valuable beverage containers are collected, recycled, and reintegrated into a circular economy; and WHEREAS, Peel Region, City of Toronto, City of Ottawa, the City of Waterloo and Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Cities Initiative (of which Hamilton is a member) have passed recent motions supporting deposit-return for non- alcoholic beverages. Public Works Committee August 31, 2026 Minutes PWC 26-011 Page 11 of 17 Please refer to the September 9, 2026, Council Minutes for the disposition of these matters. THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED: (a) That the Corporation of the City of Hamilton urges the province of Ontario to immediately implement a deposit-return program to manage non-alcoholic beverage containers; and (b) That this resolution will be distributed to: the Canadian Minister of Internal Trade and One Canadian Economy, Dominic LeBlanc, the Canadian Minister of Environment and Climate Change, Julie Dabrusin, the Premier of Ontario, Doug Ford, the Ontario Minister of Economic Development, Job Creation and Trade, Victor Fedeli; the Ontario Minister of the Environment, Conservation and Parks, Todd McCarthy, Hamilton-area MPPs, the Association of Municipalities of Ontario (AMO), and 444 Municipalities in Ontario.

Every figure above comes from the official minutes and the recorded vote they contain. The roll call shows how each member voted.