Prince Edward Island's 'can ban' ends

by amyjudd | May 6, 2008 at 03:25 pm | 1078 views | 10 comments

After almost 25 years, residents and visitors of Canada's smallest province, Prince Edward Island, can buy canned carbonated beverages.
Soon the hiss of gas escaping the metal casing of a coke can will be heard all over the tiny island.

The lifting of P.E.I.'s so-called "can ban" is being viewed by Islanders as either a cause for celebration or a day to lament. Prince Edward Island was the only place in North America where pop could only be sold in refillable bottles.

The ban was put in place in 1984 to protect jobs at the local Pepsi bottling plant and to protect the environment. The province also banned pop from being sold in plastic bottles.

It's the way a whole generation of Prince Edward Islanders quenched their thirst, unless they brought back canned pop from the mainland, which Islanders did by the trunkful. For a kid, a can of pop in a lunch box was a status symbol.

It was pressure from Islanders themselves that convinced the new government to end the can ban, which became a campaign issue in the provincial election last May.

The lifting of the ban has been twice delayed while details of the deposit and return system for cans were worked out.

A Charlottetown radio station will mark the occasion Saturday with a huge celebration in the city.

'Huge step backwards'
But P.E.I. Green party Leader Sharon Labchuk said she won't be celebrating.

"It's a sad day, not only for the environment in P.E.I., but for the environment in those far-away countries where aluminum, actually bauxite, is mined under extremely exploitive conditions of the local people and the environment," Labchuk told CBC News.

"This is a huge step backwards for the environment and social justice."

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photomato

at 20:44 on May 6th, 2008

I miss glass bottles of soda. It tasted so much better in glass. I understand why PEI would want cans, though. If everyone else has them, then they probably felt deprived. Nothing makes someone want something more than telling them that they can't have it.

I think going back to glass would be great. It was the perfect way to recycle and they scrapped it in favor of cheaper disposables. Anything to save a penny.

KMG Pictures

at 21:00 on May 6th, 2008

The return of the pop can to PEI despite its obvious enviromental impact could spawn a whole new industry where various charitable groups could cash in on the recycling of the can to raise funds. This would hopefuly lead to reduced littering as there would be an inventive to collect used cans.

KMG Pictures has contributed a photo to this story.

mr56k

at 22:14 on May 6th, 2008

Nothing beats a nice cold can of Squirt. Plastic bottles should be banned.

mr56k has contributed a photo to this story.

Green--Bean

at 21:41 on May 6th, 2008

Things like the "can-ban" may seem silly, but it really isn't that much of an inconvenience to consumers, and it is things like this, that can really help the environment. Because soda is such a common beverage, by eliminating waste through methods like this can be very effective. However, cans are easily recycled. Education is very important here though. People need to remember to recycle.

Even though a product is recyclable, it doesn't do any good if it is tossed in a garbage bin!

daniel.gene

at 22:23 on May 6th, 2008

I always prefer drinking soda out of the bottle. It makes me nostalgic for soda shop days, even though I was born in 1981.

daniel.gene has contributed a photo to this story.

ackme51

at 22:22 on May 6th, 2008

Infrequently seen in Michigan...they're worth $0.10 each if in good shape. The deposit law works quite well to minimize these on these roadside.

ackme51 has contributed a photo to this story.

Jamie B. PHOTOGRAPHY

at 23:01 on May 6th, 2008

It's hard to believe that they have gone 25 years without a soda can.

Cyphergears

at 21:32 on May 7th, 2008

This photo was taken in my livingroom. I was just snapping off photos and I liked this one and kept it.

Cyphergears has contributed a photo to this story.

jd.cutter

at 18:22 on May 15th, 2008

This saddens me to a degree. One being a designer because I love the look of glass compared to most aluminum cans. As I said MOST, some are very well designed and rock my eyes. But as previously mentioned, the flavors of drinks are effected so much by the container they are in. When you drink soda/pop out of a can, you get that metallic mixture of the metals involved in making the cans makeup.

For anyone who has ever drank wine for over a few months you can tell that the glass it is in really does help to add to the flavor of the wine itself. shape, amount of oxidation, these things go into how the flavors mature before drinking them down.

Now, I don't drink soda/pop or most carbonated drinks due to a problem with stomach acid, but I used to. And man there was nothing better than a nice cold freshly chilled bottle of coca-cola from the local stop n' go. Now yes, for a number of years I was the type of kid who would throw a can of soda/pop into the freezer and make myself a home made slushy. But its still not the same as that freshly chilled glass of coke.

As far as being a step backwards... I'm not sure I agree with that, but as far as the loss of jobs, yes that is a shame. But, if they are going to be allowing these types of things into P.E.I, then people elsewhere will also being gaining jobs because of it I'm sure.

eastvanray

at 22:51 on May 24th, 2008

I had no idea the PEI government felt the people of PEI were not responsible enough to have canned pop. Banning cans is crazy. What is this Prince Edward Stalangrad? Let the people choose.