Where did $50m in unredeemed booze bottle deposits go?

Where did $50m in unredeemed booze bottle deposits go?

From NOW and NEXT by Dave Trafford

March 24, 2026 · 27 min

About this episode

The episode discusses the unredeemed bottle deposits in Ontario, legal issues surrounding Bill Cosby, and government transparency under Doug Ford.

It's another RADIO DAYS edition of Now and NEXT: I sat in with Gene Valaitis on 610 CKTB! And it was a jam packed session: At least $50 million in depostis went unredeemed in Ontario in 2024. I'm betting that number will be even higher when we do accounting for 2025! The bottle/cans are landing in overly stressed municipal recycling bins and that cash is sitting in LCBO coffers. Why? It's no coincidence these numbers spiked when we started closing Beer Stores across the province. Canadian travel abroad outpaced ground trips to the US in January 2026 for the first time since 1972! Bill Cosby found guilty of sexual assault in a civil lawsuit. He's ordered to pay $19.25 million in reparations. What's most remarkable about this is the lack of any significant coverage this trial got in the media. AND Premier Doug Ford doubles down on his government's plan to gut the Freedom of Information Act admitting he doesn't want anyone knowing what confidential conversations he's having every day. You can watch OR listen to this episode on our YouTube Channel (Be sure to subscribe!) Follow Dave on Facebook , Instagram , LinkedIn and X And you can leave us a voice comment here ! For more…

People in this episode

Host: Dave Trafford

Guest: Gene Valaitis

Topics covered

  • unredeemed deposits
  • recycling
  • political commentary
  • legal issues
  • media coverage
  • government transparency

Keywords

  • bottle deposits
  • Ontario
  • recycling
  • Bill Cosby
  • Doug Ford
  • Freedom of Information
  • media coverage
  • 2024
  • 2025
  • 2026

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: LCBO

Places: Ontario

More episodes of NOW and NEXT

Explore listener stats, chart rankings, contacts and more on the NOW and NEXT podcast page.