Modelling estimates savings of nearly $1 million and a 69 per cent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions from refilling 6 million bottles per year instead of using each bottle only once
A News Report from the citizens group Environmental Defence Canada
Posted September 24th, 2026 on Niagara At Large
Toronto – Analysis commissioned by Environmental Defence Canada and Circulr suggests that Ontario wineries and local wine drinkers would benefit from a shift to refillable bottles. The current practice is to fill bottles once before they are returned through the province’s deposit return program and crushed for recycling.
Modelling conducted for the organizations suggests that refilling even 10 per cent of bottles of local wine sold in Ontario every year would save wineries money. It would also reduce greenhouse gas emissions by as much as 2,000 tonnes, the equivalent of taking 435 cars off the road.
“From a reuse provider’s perspective, wine bottles are a slam dunk. We have an effective collection network for the containers, washing equipment specializing in bottles is easily available and well tested, and Ontario wineries are some of the most environmentally minded in the world,” said Tyler De Sousa, chief operating officer of Circulr. “Honestly, some people we talk to outside the industry assume it’s already happening because the pieces are all there.”
“There is every reason for Ontario’s wine industry to shift to refill and for the provincial government to do whatever it can to help,” added Karen Wirsig, senior program manager for plastics at Environmental Defence.
“We know Ontario wine consumers are good about returning wine and other alcohol bottles for refund, which is a crucial step toward refill. Beyond the benefits for costs and the climate, refilling bottles means much less waste.”
KEY FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS:
- Modelling was conducted by Eunomia Consulting on the impacts of shifting 6 million bottles from the current single-use model to refill. Using data provided by several Ontario wineries, the modelling found that refilling a bottle three times reduces costs compared to single use.
- A refill rate of four times per bottle is possible with a return rate of 75 per cent, which is lower than the current rate of 80 per cent for glass bottles returned through the Ontario Deposit Return Program.
- Refilling 6 million of the approximately 60 million 750-ml bottles of Ontario wine sold annually in the province four times would reduce greenhouse gas emissions by as much as 69 per cent and save 13 cents per bottle, or $780,000 per year across the industry. Higher return and refill rates would reduce costs and pollution even further.
- The modelling also showed that the refill system would create about 12 new jobs, a number that would grow with increased wine bottle refill. It would also reduce reliance on imported single-use bottles, and lower the costs and waste associated with end-of-life disposal.
Environmental Defence and Circulr recommend that the Ontario wine industry establish a working group with a view to adopting refill of bottles for locally-produced wine sold in Ontario. The organizations also recommend that the Ontario government support the effort through an improved deposit-return program, seed funding to establish wash and quality control infrastructure, and a tax incentive to support refill.
ABOUT ENVIRONMENTAL DEFENCE (environmentaldefence.ca): Environmental Defence is a leading Canadian advocacy organization that works with government, industry and individuals to defend clean water, a safe climate and healthy communities.
ABOUT CIRCULR (Circulr.ca): Circulr is a reuse service provider that operates packaging reuse systems for a variety of packaging types.
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