These are just a few of the issues for which public input is being sought by the Legislative Assembly’s all-party Standing Committee on Resources and Environment.

“These are all issues of great public interest,” said Denis Ducharme, MLA for Bonnyville-Cold Lake and Chair of the Standing Committee on Resources and Environment. “The committee wants to ensure Albertans have a voice in this process.”

The Standing Committee on Resources and Environment is one of four all-party committees established by the Assembly this spring. Among other responsibilities, this 11-Member committee is performing a public inquiry into issues surrounding the Beverage Container Recycling Regulation.

These issues include

Beverage Container Collection System: is the number of existing bottle depots in Alberta sufficient? Should additional collection options be considered?

Exemption of Milk Containers: should milk containers be included in the deposit refund system?

Deposit Levels: should the existing deposit levels be raised? Should there be only one deposit level for all containers? Should large or oversize containers (i.e. 15-litre water bottles) have a much higher deposit level?

Unredeemed Deposits: should management of these unredeemed deposits be transferred from the manufacturer to the Delegated Administrative Organization (currently the Beverage Container Management Board), or should manufacturers continue to manage these funds? Should the regulation stipulate how these deposits may be used?

Service Quality: what direction should be given to the Delegated Administrative Organization respecting the administration of standards included in the bylaws? Should there be a specific enforcement clause to deal with service quality?

Two Common Collection Agents: Should the number of common collection agents required be a business decision handled in the bylaws and not prescribed in the Regulation?

Other issues that may arise.

The process surrounding the Committee’s review of the regulation is intended to enhance transparency, openness and accountability to the public.

Information about the committee and its review process can be found at www.assembly.ab.ca/resourceandenvironment

Members of the public are invited to make written submissions to the committee before the August 24, 2007, deadline. Details about the submission process are also available on the website.