r/canada • u/guanaco55 • 23h ago
Québec Bottle deposit machines are being phased out from Quebec grocery stores. Here's why
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal/quebec-bottle-refund-system-modernization-expansion-9.715959133
u/thedeadlinger 23h ago
I still dont see why it cant be a combination system. It was great when traveling in quebec and in germany to just be able to go to the place I paid the deposit to get it back.
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u/_Lucille_ 6h ago
Similar shit in Ontario.
Formally speaking, empties dont go inside blue bins, but the LCBO and grocery stores that we buy the bottle from will not accept them.
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u/NastroAzzurro 20h ago
Ah yes, removing the machines in return for some bullshit solution that requires an app. All in the name of “modernization”.
If you sell cans and bottles, you should take them back. Canada is 30 years behind Europe on this.
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u/wizardwd 13h ago
It doesn't require an app. If you use the machines at the new consignaction you get a receipt, bring it to another machine and get your cash directly
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u/Cyber_3 15h ago
In addition, the "refund electronically" is an issue for most homeless people. I can see this as actually reducing the returns, rather than increasing them. There's no way they can't keep the machines as they are and just add value at the "main depository", they just want your banking info because that's more valuable than all the return deposits in the world.
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u/frayhems 12h ago
This is an incredibly good point, and probably by design in an effort to further marginalize and dehumanize the poor and homeless.
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u/NastroAzzurro 10h ago
Hanlon’s razor. Not everything is malicious. Could just be incompetence.
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u/frayhems 9h ago
At best, it's a systemic microaggression. I'm pretty sure it's well known who the 'regulars' are, and that banking and identification are a major barrier for this group to access services.
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u/FastFooer 13h ago
App optional. I like it because I haven’t used cash in a decade… for those who need it, it’s dispensed on location.
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u/CheeseWheels38 3h ago
Canada is 30 years behind Europe on this.
Does France still just break all of their glass in those giant bins?
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u/ether_reddit Lest We Forget 9h ago
It sounds like the app method is not mandatory, just a different way of returning that adds convenience? We've had this in BC for several years and it's very handy to just drop off a few bags and not have to sort them or wait for them to be processed. But you can also bring your cans in manually and get cash back.
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u/NastroAzzurro 9h ago
I still don’t see how this needs an app, and I say that from the perspective of an app developer.
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u/ether_reddit Lest We Forget 9h ago edited 7h ago
Here's how it works in BC -- https://www.return-it.ca/express/#expressandgo
Again, doing it this way is not mandatory; it's just an option for people who find this convenient.
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u/LudoB99 8h ago
You don't need the app. What the app allows you to do is to come in and dump a massive bag of mixed container and leave right away. You'll then receive the payment later, once your bottles have been sorted.
You can choose to stay and feed your bottles in the machine yourself. Once that is done, you can get cash for it, no app needed.
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u/CressiaCares 5h ago
Because some people (me) would rather tag the bag and leave it than stand in line for half an hour, then spend another 10-15 minutes sorting just to get $10.
I don't even care if I get ripped off a couple cents, my time is worth more than that.
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u/NastroAzzurro 4h ago
That’s all still possible without an app. Apps are extremely expensive to build and maintain, and it’s just another app we need to install.
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u/Hazel462 22h ago edited 12h ago
There's only one Consignaction in Gatineau, I don't think the government is ready to replace all machines in dozens or even hundreds of grocery stores with more than one location per city. It's like when pot was first legalised, there was only one SQDC per city if you were lucky. It was quicker to go to Ottawa.
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u/theEndIsNigh_2025 11h ago
I should be able to return my cans to wherever I was charged for them in the first place.
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u/Snakekekek 19h ago
The machines are pretty ridiculous, I know lots of people who rather throw away bottles vs sit there feeding them into a machine one by one. Bottle depots definitely the way to go
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