LCBO / The Beer Store

[gabe]

Having a deposit/return system for containers that are recycled seems very inefficient/wasteful.

I would rather see a deposit/return system on all cans and plastic bottles sold in stores. It may cut down on all the litter. As long as it's like a 25 cent deposit or more. People will think twice about chucking cans/bottles out the car window or tossing Monster Energy cans into my peony bushes at the bus stop.

My cousin in NY state, keeps all bottles and cans in the garage. They take the bags to the grocery store for store credit. Cuts down on the grocery bill. The kids had their own bags. When they got full they would take it to the store an put the money towards toys or candy or whatever kids buy.

 

[afransen]

I would rather see a deposit/return system on all cans and plastic bottles sold in stores. It may cut down on all the litter. As long as it's like a 25 cent deposit or more. People will think twice about chucking cans/bottles out the car window or tossing Monster Energy cans into my peony bushes at the bus stop.

My cousin in NY state, keeps all bottles and cans in the garage. They take the bags to the grocery store for store credit. Cuts down on the grocery bill. The kids had their own bags. When they got full they would take it to the store an put the money towards toys or candy or whatever kids buy.

If you want to cut down on litter, ban non-reusable containers and implement a deposit/return/reuse scheme. Having a deposit return scheme where the returns are immediately waste is non-sensical. And let's not kid ourselves, most plastic is just garbage.

It doesn't cut down on the grocery bill. Inherent in deposit/return is the cost of the deposit. Add in the cost of administering the system and all the added touches/infrastructure to deliver those items to the waste stream and we are just lighting money on fire, not to mention increasing GHG emissions and pollution.

 

[gabe]

Works fine in Quebec and BC. And better for our environment. Keep garbage off our streets. Everyday i see metal cans and plastic bottles. Especially on trails. People will pick it up and get money for it.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1800541547022446941

 

[afransen]

Works fine in Quebec and BC. And better for our environment. Keep garbage off our streets. Everyday i see metal cans and plastic bottles. Especially on trails. People will pick it up and get money for it.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1800541547022446941

Most of the litter I see is fast food cups, food wrappers, etc. I rarely see plastic bottles and cans. Perhaps on trails lacking in waste receptacles lazy people are more likely to litter. You could employ people to collect litter (or place garbage/recycling receptacles and empty them) and skip the infrastructure to collect waste, issue refunds, "recycle" it and put it in a landfill (possibly a river or burn pile on the other side of the planet).

ETA: I would favour a tax on single use beverage containers, scaled to how readily recyclable the container is. Mixed plastic bottles: 10 or 20 cents per bottle to start. We need to focus on reduce, before reuse, before recycle.

 

[lenaitch]

One problem with things like taxing, deposits, etc. is recycling standards across the province are inconsistent.

 

[Jonny5]

Per The Star, it's happening

LCBO contract talks break off, workers set for midnight strike: ‘Tonight, Ford’s dry summer begins’ ​

‘We can weather a strike as long as necessary,” said OPSEU president J.P. Hornick. The LCBO has said that, in the event of a strike, 30 stores would reopen July 19 for limited shopping every Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

 

[Northern Light]

Per The Star, it's happening

Seems like a too-late to work strategy to me.........

Marketshare for the LCBO is about to be eroded...., there will be closures and layoffs within the year.........going out now costs the government some money........ but aside from transferable business to the Wine Rack/ Wine Shoppe, supermarkets of the world, and the Beer Store.........nothing prevents Ford from opening those same retailers to the hard stuff...........potenially as soon as next month........

He could also accelerate existing timelines and essentially kill the retail end of the LCBO entirely..........

I'm not suggesting he should..........but I just don't see the leverage for the Union here...

 

[lenaitch]

Seems like a too-late to work strategy to me.........

Marketshare for the LCBO is about to be eroded...., there will be closures and layoffs within the year.........going out now costs the government some money........ but aside from transferable business to the Wine Rack/ Wine Shoppe, supermarkets of the world, and the Beer Store.........nothing prevents Ford from opening those same retailers to the hard stuff...........potenially as soon as next month........

He could also accelerate existing timelines and essentially kill the retail end of the LCBO entirely..........

I'm not suggesting he should..........but I just don't see the leverage for the Union here...

It wouldn't be the first time a union shot itself in the foot. The only main union demand I can see having traction is a reduction in part-time positions. Knowing that their main competitor is going to be independent retail, as far as I can tell, they are already at parity with grocery store employees. Job protection is going to be a hard sell and they probably know that if they go to an arbitrator/conciliator they're not going to get it.

I'm torn. I actually like to LCBO concept. I drink only craft beer (ok, the odd Corona) and, from what I've seen, independent retail, and even the Beer Store, only stock the stuff that moves well which in most cases is the corporate brands. I'm not much of a hard liquor drinker anymore but my preferred brands of Whisky are hard enough to get at the LCBO - I can't imagine retail expending much shelf space on the amount of variety even the average LCBO has.

 

[Northern Light]

It wouldn't be the first time a union shot itself in the foot. The only main union demand I can see having traction is a reduction in part-time positions. Knowing that their main competitor is going to be independent retail, as far as I can tell, they are already at parity with grocery store employees. Job protection is going to be a hard sell and they probably know that if they go to an arbitrator/conciliator they're not going to get it.

I haven't looked too closely at it, but to my recollection, most LCBOs are down to 1 full-time, non-management staffer.

The larger, high-volume stores may have a handful.

I'm torn. I actually like to LCBO concept. I drink only craft beer (ok, the odd Corona) and, from what I've seen, independent retail, and even the Beer Store, only stock the stuff that moves well which in most cases is the corporate brands. I'm not much of a hard liquor drinker anymore but my preferred brands of Whisky are hard enough to get at the LCBO - I can't imagine retail expending much shelf space on the amount of variety even the average LCBO has.

I like the LCBO at its best, for the selection, as you note, for knowledgeable staff (some of the product consultants) and the nicer stores also have a good ambiance about them.

That said, in much of the world, wine and beer especially are much more widely/conveniently available, and in many, but fewer cases, so is the hard stuff.

There is a certain convenience to the one-stop shop, particularly for those not owning cars, but even those of us who do. As I spend a fair bit of time in downtown TO, I often, also grocery shop there before heading home.

Its a convenience when I can grab the wine that goes w/dinner and stand in line only once, rather than have to schlep a couple of bags of grocery a few blocks away to the nearest LCBO outpost.

I think there's an argument for both concepts (wider distribution and stores that sell greater breadth of product and/or more dangerous product with greater care)

Elsewhere, my experience has been you rarely see stores w/the LCBO depth, though it does happen; but what you see more of is boutique offerings. So the selection is around, but not under one roof.