CWMA – Networking Event 2019 Enhancing the Customer Experience: How Return-It is Modernizing the Depot Network for the 21st Century

Return-It

Allen Langdon – President & CEO

20 billion containers recycled Weighing 1.6 million metric tonnes

Return-It

• Used Beverage Container (UBC) management is our core business.

Service Provider to:

• Electronic Products Recycling Association (EPRA)

• Major Appliances Recycling Roundtable (MARR)

Beverage System Infrastructure

• 170+ independently owned depots (93% of unit volume)

• Retail (7% of volume) • 350+ Grocery Stores • 220 Government Liquor Stores

• Over a billion containers collected and recycled (77.4% recovery rate by unit 84% by weight)

• Annually about 94,000 metric tonnes recycled (plus 25,000 tonnes of electronics)

Beverage Containers in the System

• Encorp is responsible for any liquid that is a ready-to-serve sealed drink, except:

– Milk and milk substitutes, including rice milk, soya milk, infant formula, meal replacements, dietary supplements

• Beer in aluminum cans and refillable glass

– Brewers Distributor is the steward.

Containers Collected Container Type Units

Aluminum 362 million units | 33% of product mix

Plastic 380 million units | 39% of product mix

Glass 207 million units | 17% of product mix

Drink Boxes/ Gable Tops 65 million units | 8% of product mix

Bi-Metal 4 million units | .4% of product mix

Bag-in-Box 1.8 million units | .3% of product mix

Pouches 2 million units | .5% of product mix

Recycling Markets

• Aluminum – 100% to new can aluminum in Kentucky

• PET – 100% processed at Merlin Plastics in BC or Alberta

• Glass – Over 90% to new wine bottle glass in Seattle – Balance to sandblasting material in BC

• Aseptic and Gabletop Cartons – About 90% to tissue/toilet paper production in South Korea,

balance to U.S.

WHAT’S NEW?

• Consumer registers online

• Bar code bag of containers and drop off

• Containers are counted and deposits credited to

online account

• Redeem through e-Transfer beginning in March

Express Lower Mainland

• Roll out Express to depots in the Lower Mainland by July 1st 2019

• About 60 locations and 40,000 customers by July 1st 2019

• Expectation in two years, over 100 Express depots covering all markets in BC with populations over 30,000 people

Express & Go Outlets

• Piloted in Vancouver, Express & Go outlets are smaller and do not offer cash refunds

• The smaller format is essential to locate in more accessible commercial locations

• Focus for Express & Go outlets – Dense urban areas where we have the lowest

recovery rate in the province and the greatest difficulty siting depots

Return-It Express & Go Yaletown

Key Results to Date

• 95% improved Depot customer satisfaction level

• 91% would or have recommend Express to friends and family

• 20% of new registrants have not been to a depot in over 6 months

• Another 7.5 % of new registrants have never been to a depot

Return-It Gang Plush Toys Recycling Incentive

Collect the whole set

Comprehensive Consumer Awareness Campaign

Express & GO

Caps Off Policy Change • All depots now accept beverage

containers with caps on

• Aligned with practice already taking place at most depots

• Reduces consumer confusion and makes recycling even simpler

Reducing Consumer Confusion Return-It Depot

Acceptable Products Standard Signage

Standard Signage Wall in Depot

Cards & Icons Flow Through to Website

Global Commitment • The Global Commitment is a vision of a

circular economy for plastic in which it never becomes waste.

• Signatories commit to three actions to realize this vision: – Eliminate all problematic and unnecessary

plastic items. – Innovate to ensure that the plastics we do

need are reusable, recyclable, or compostable.

– Circulate all the plastic items we use to keep them in the economy and out of the environment.

Encorp’s Global Commitment

• To recycle 75 percent of the plastic beverage containers sold into the Province of British Columbia by 2022

• To eliminate single use plastic film from our supply chain by 2025

– Beginning with shift to reusable bags in large depots by the end of 2019

Textile Collection - Pilot

• Find solutions for textile collection reuse & recycling.

• 4 month pilot program

• 12 participating Return-It locations (lower mainland)

• Partnership with Bank & Vogue Ottawa

• 255 bags = 4900 kg in the first 5 weeks

Outdoor Spaces & ICI Sector Bin Program

Propane Canister Collection & Recycling Pilot Program

Return-It & BC Parks Partnership

Outreach & Partnerships

• Canucks for Kids & Canucks hockey team

• Canadian’s Baseball team

• Whitecaps Soccer team

• Vancouver Titan’s e-sports

The Binners Project

• Major sponsor of the Binners project and Binners cart project since 2016

• Phase two installation of cart share program

Defining our Social Purpose

• Unique program developed by the Social Purpose Institute at United Way to help companies uncover their distinctive, ‘best fit’ social purpose

• Custom designed program that’s cohort-based, and strategy-focused

• Environment that helps businesses incubate, accelerate and scale social purpose as a way to drive both business growth and the company’s potential for social good

Defining our Social Purpose

• Defined: A company whose enduring reason for being is to create a better world. Creating social benefits by the very act of conducting business.

• Virtuous Cycle of Value Creation Meets societal needs, consumer

and stakeholder expectations

Defining our Social Purpose

• Currently in research and consultation phase with implementation in 2020

More info: return-it.ca