FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
November 26, 2025
Statement
The Beer Store (TBS) is proud to be the most effective solution for empty alcohol container deposit return in Ontario. Ontario grocery stores have entered into a voluntary agreement in principle with TBS to signal their intent to have TBS collect empty alcohol containers on their behalf and refund deposits to consumers.
“This is positive news for consumers and the environment. We are leaders in operating a deposit return system with a great track record of customer service. This voluntary service agreement will allow Ontarians access to the empty alcohol return system that gets people their deposit money back.”
- Roy Benin, President and Chief Executive Officer of BDL and TBS
Empties Made Easy with Empty Return Locator
The Beer Store recently launched a new Empty Return Locator to make it easier than ever to find a Beer Store or alternative location that is accepting empties.
Consumers can find the locator on the Beer Store’s website. Visit www.thebeerstore.ca/where-toreturn-empties, in the navigation bar select ‘Returning Empties’. This menu will drop down, then select ‘where to Return Empties’.
Empty Returns
The Beer Store encourages customers to continue returning more than the 1.6 billion alcohol containers we process annually to one of our local TBS locations, an LCO or an empty container dealer located close by. The following beverage alcohol containers purchased in Ontario can be returned to collect your deposit back: beer, wine and spirits bottles, aluminum cans, plastic bottles, tetra packs and kegs.
To help ensure that customers can still purchase beer and return empties conveniently, we encourage customers to use one of the following resources:
To find the closest Beer Store location, please visit our website at www.thebeerstore.ca/locations.
To source the nearest Empty Return Location site, please visit The Beer Store Where to Return Empties store locator at: www.thebeerstore.ca/where-to-return-empties
To learn more about The Beer Store’s sustainability efforts and why returning empties is beneficial for your community, please see our latest Stewardship Report Delivering Circular Solutions for Ontario. Visit Stewardship Report | The Beer Store.
About The Beer Store
Owned by Ontario-based brewers and named one of Canada’s Greenest Employers 2025, the Beer Store is an integrated business including Ontario’s largest beer retailer, the convenient location for returning empty alcohol containers and leading beverage distributor. The TBS logistics division has 26 points of distribution strategically located across the province to meet the needs of customers. The Beer Store proudly distributed over 3 million hectoliters of beer to over 13,000 retail and convenience customers in 2024. The Beer Store is deeply committed to responsible sales and not selling to minors or people who are intoxicated. More than 2.1 million customers were challenged in 2024. It is also one of the greenest retailers in the world, annually collecting for reuse and recycling approximately 1.6 billion beverage alcohol containers, including beer, wine and spirits. The Beer Store employs thousands of hard-working Ontarians with well-paying full and parttime jobs.
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The Beer Store
