Pops for Parks Funding Mechanism in the United States
New York, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Maine and Michigan fund environmental programs by claiming deposit fees from unrecycled beverage containers, which otherwise remains as a profit with the beverage industry.
In B.C., there were 16 million dollars’ worth of unclaimed bottle deposits in 2014.
The B.C.-based Ancient Forest Alliance organization’s Pops for Parks Report states that there are no legal or financial barriers to implementing the program in B.C. – only a lack of political will.
Eighteen major B.C. conservation organizations are already asking the Government of British Columbia to establish a similar system. Water suppliers in B.C.’s community watersheds could support these conservation alliances by adding their voice, and in return could share the benefits from conservation lands.
