On Monday August 24th government introduced the Returnable Containers Bill in the House of Representatives. Because it was tabled the same day as the BTL takeover bill, it slipped under the radar and didn’t get much media attention. But since its first reading, the bill has stirred up a firestorm of controversy in a House Committee meeting and on the airwaves. By now you’ve probably seen the ads but what exactly is the controversy about? Well that is what we tried to find out.

Keith Swift Reporting,
You’ve seen the television ads…but the fuss is mainly about empty beer bottles. An example is a bottle of red stripe. When emptied it is worthless but if the law passes – you will be able to return that empty Red Stripe or Heineken bottle and get 25 cents. It sounds like a good idea but importers say its not.

Kay Menzies, Managing Director – Karl H. Menzies
“The effect is going to be chaos for most of the shopkeepers in this country because by law they will have to take back anything that falls under the law of recovery and the management of it is going to be in short utter chaos.”

Menzies is the Managing Director of Karl H. Menzies which imports the popular Heineken beer. She is vocally opposed to the legislation because she says it will do more harm than good.

Kay Menzies,
“I think it could have been done a heck of a lot better. The Returnable Containers Bill, it is suggested that it is an environmental bill but we don’t see where it is impacting the environment at all. For example the Bill completely ignores plastic, it doesn’t mention anything about recycling. At the 25 cent deposit rate it actually discourages recycling.”

Keith Swift,
“Do you see this as being a special interest legislation?”

Kay Menzies,
“I think the answer to that is quite obvious to the people who are noticing the bill, that there seems to be one main beneficiary of this piece of legislation.”

And that beneficiary would be Bowen and Bowen which already pays 25 cents for empty Belikin beer, Guinness stout, and soft drink glass bottles – in addition to plastic bottles.

Hilly Martinez, Manager – Belize Brewing Company
“We have been refunds, 25 cents per bottle, for the time when the brewery started and the prices have gone up from 5 cents, 10 cents, 15 cents up to 25 cents. Whatever broken bottles are accumulated, we send back to the supplier in Guatemala and they send to pick it up and the bottles are recycled in Guatemala and any importer who imports can do the same thing.”

Martinez says that if anything – the new legislation will level the playing the field.

Hilly Martinez,
“There will be no additional cost to the consumer. If you charge me the 25 cents, all I need to do is to take back my bottle and get back my 25 cents just like what they do with Belikin, Lighthouse, and Coca Cola bottles, exactly the same.

If I export to Barbados, the people who buy my beer I will have to refund them 20 cents per bottle and 10 cents for plastic.”

Keith Swift,
“So why do you think there is this opposition to the bill?”

Hilly Martinez,
“I really can’t say why they are objecting to it so much. You need to ask them.”

Keith Swift,
“Bowen and Bowen says they have been doing this all along. Why can’t you guys do it?”

Kay Menzies,
“Yeah but they do it because its cheaper for them to reuse the bottles and not buy new ones so it is quite a pragmatic reason for them to do it.”

Hilly Martinez,
“If you walk around Keith or anybody else on the streets, the beach, the highways – you will never see a Belikin, Coke, Fanta glass or plastic bottle on the beach or on the street because it has a value and people pick them up and bring them into us and we’ve found a way of disposing or recycling them. So if there is a value to it you wouldn’t see them on the street, you won’t see much broken bottles on the streets anymore.”

Kay Menzies,
“Glass bottles used to be reused for things like coconut oil and honey and various other small producer products. Those will now have to be destroyed and disposed of in the land fill and so there is your environmental impact and the cans will also end up right back in the landfill destroyed, where they were going to go in the first place. So again we are not too sure where the positive environmental impact is in this.”

The House meets on Friday but the bill is not expected to be passed because it is still in committee. And as to why plastics weren’t included on the list – no one we talked to had an answer.