Litter survey could lead to higher bottle deposit on P.E.I.

P.E.I.'s first litter survey in more than a decade found that people are leaving behind more garbage, and that has the provincial environment minister thinking it may be time to increase the deposit on beverage bottles and cans.

The province commissioned the P.E.I. Watershed Alliance to do the survey. Litter was cleaned up from 46 sites around the Island. Each piece was then categorized by type, and when possible even the brand of the discarded item was noted.

The survey found a 35 per cent increase in the amount of garbage over the last time the survey was done in 2010. Charlotte Large, project manager with the P.E.I. Watershed Alliance, said the increase can in part be attributed to the pandemic.

"There was a lot of increase in plastic packaging, in disposable items or one-use items," said Large.

"That increase in reported litter may be correlated to that increase in single-use plastic, in sanitation and safety equipment."

Offering more for cans

The survey found Poole's Corner had the most trash, Tim Horton's was the most common cup, and Budweiser the most common beverage container.

While the proportion of litter that was beverage containers was down from 2010, the overall number was still up. Because of that, Environment Minister Steven Myers is thinking about solutions.

"There's a big question now about whether we're offering enough for our cans," said Myers.

"If we made it a little more profitable to pick up cans, would people go back to picking up cans and bottles on the road. I remember doing it as a kid. We were always excited to do it and we could make money doing it … we were certainly happy with what we got out of it."

Myers said he has asked his department to look into increasing the surcharge on beverage containers to 20 cents, double the current amount, and then paying 15 cents for a return. So the government share of the surcharge would be unchanged at five cents, but the amount going back to the consumer would triple.

Every little bit helps

Myers said he is not considering an increase in littering fines. It is difficult to catch people, he said, and he does not believe it would be an effective deterrent.

Large encouraged all Islanders to help with cleaning up, even if only a little bit.

"There is still a lot of litter in and around our communities," she said.

"Any amount that people can pick up, take with them and remove, and small effort to clean our communities a little bit, it all adds up at the end of the day."

The province is currently planning to sponsor a litter survey every three to five years.