Hello neighbors up north, my wife and I will be spending 10 days 'casting our arms off' on Lake of the Woods near Sioux Narrows in a few weeks and we can't wait to spend another fall vacation in your beautiful country. I just got done reading a really helpful thread in this forum from earlier this year about finding decent beer on my way up through Fort Frances at the LCBO. SInce we're only going up as far as Sioux Narrows I'm sure the Fort Frances store is my best (only?) bet for finding some interesting brews on the way up and I've got the store all mapped out. I've made roughly a dozen fishing trips to Ontario over the past 10 years or so and this will be my first time seeking out something other than Kokanee, Keith's etc. and I'm looking forward to the adventure. Last year I did find a Ricard's Red that I enjoyed but other than that all the beers I've had have been pretty basic. The thread from earlier this year gave me some good tips on brews to seek out but I could use some info on the deposits you pay when you buy beer in Ontario. In the past I've always just left bottles for our resort-owner to deal with and keep the deposit for his trouble. This year we're renting a privately-owned place and the rule is 'leave it as you left it' so I'll be needing to get rig of my empties myself, and I do try to recycle as much as I can. A few questions on the deposit / refund procedures I'd appreciate your help with: 1) Is there a deposit on cans as well as bottles? (I've actually never bought beer in a can on any of my previous trips but I've grown to appreciate cans, especially since this time I'll be doing the hauling!) If there is a deposit on cans, do they need to be left completely intact to be returned or can they be 'crunched' somewhat for saving space? 2) We'll be leaving Canada fairly early on a Sunday and the Fort Frances LCBO will not be open when we leave. Do you think I'd have any problems returning cans or bottles for deposit refunds at one of the smaller LCBO's near where we're staying even though they won't carry any of the lesser-known brews I'll (hopefully) be getting in Fort Frances? Thanks much for the help
Unfortunately, the LCBO doesn't take returns. You have to go to the Beer Store to do so. Took a quick look at their site and looks like they open at noon on Sunday, 10am every other day. Here's the address, if you want to look it up: 343 Fifth St. East Fort Frances, ON P9A 1V1
Yes, both cans and bottles have a 10 cent deposit. Most bottles that are bomber-sized or larger (i.e. wine or glass liquor bottles) are worth 20 cents. In my experience they don't care if the cans have been stepped on or crunched or whatever, as long as they were purchased in Ontario. As for your other question, I think that's already been answered. Returns go back to The Beer Store, not the LCBO. Most TBS locations are open on Sundays, albeit with limited hours (Noon to 5pm is typical).
Having lived close to the Fort for years Would it not be easier to bring your own bottles from somewhere in the States and just chuck the empties in a recycling bin somewhere?
I want to try Canadian beer, things I can't get in the states. I'll search for old posts on the beer store getting all returns, that sounds inconvenient. Thanks.
Looks like they have Empty Bottle Dealers (aka Depots) as well: http://www.bagitback.ca/en/residential/faq.shtml I dunno but on the West Coast you can recycle drinking containers at just about any grocery store as well, maybe not for a refund.
Where there is an LCBO, there is a Beer Store. If you were planning on dropping the empties at a small town LCBO, you can bet that there is a Beer Store within walking distance. You can crush cans as flat as you like. As far as bottles go, I've found that with the variety of beer bottle shapes, sizes and formats that the LCBO is getting these days, TBS employees wouldn't know one way or another whether you purchased it in Ontario, another province, the US or Europe for that matter (or whether it's a bottle the LCBO even carries or ever has carried). Let's just say that I know from experience, and have the dimes in my pocket to prove it.
oops hit enter too quick sorry. On our way up from Fort Frances we travel west through a little town called Emo where there's a LCBO but no Beer store. We then go north an hour or so and the same's true for the two towns we go through on that trek, a LCBO but no Beer store (the one at Nestor Falls is inside / part of a grocery store). I guess LCBO's service the smaller rural / travel areas - thank goodness they're there! My main concern is the recycling, not the deposit so I'd bet I can at least find a place to recycle my empties at the marina where we'll be taking our other trash. I just don't want have to haul it 800 miles back home to get rid of it. Getting a candy bar for my trouble would be even better but it would be an hour+ drive back to Fort Frances or up to Kenora to find a Beer store, probably defeating the whole recycling benefit. We'll be leaving CA early on a Sunday so they won't be open yet on our way home.
Don't bother going to the depot. I live in a trailer park up here in Canada and I get drunk while fishing 3 or 4 times a week during the summer. I've noticed that if you throw something into a water body, like a lake or an ocean, that the next day you come back and it's gone so, somehow it takes it away and filters it through and it just cleans it up, like a garbage compactor or whatever. So it's not really littering if you ask me.
Obviously a joke...that sort of thing is not legal and is considered lowlife, similar to flicking butts... I usually just leave empties at the resort. The people who clean it don't mind the extra cash. Just leave them clean and in the box they came in. Otherwise it is just garbage. Alternatively, bring it back to civilization and leave it outside the LCBO or other main chain and someone will pick it up and recycle it for you. True.
