May 23, 2025
The Beer Store Annual Bottle Drive May 24, 2025
ONTARIO – The Beer Store (TBS) is proud to partner with the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society of Canada (LLSC) and the United Food and Commercial Workers 12R24 (UFCW 12R24) to raise funds to combat blood cancer. The Bottle Drive is an annual event that together with customers taking advantage of The Beer Store’s world- leading empty return program, has raised over $24M for the LLSC.
“I am so proud of what we do, our commitment to community, sustainability leadership and our partnership with the LLSC,” said Ozzie Ahmed, VP Retail TBS. “I want to thank the many volunteers, our employees and the customers who participate annually – on May 24th join us with your empties and make a difference.”
TBS and LLSC will be hosting bottle drive activities at Beer Store retail locations throughout Ontario during regular business hours. This means customers from Wawa to Windsor will all have an opportunity to make a difference in person. Customers will be encouraged to drop off empty alcohol containers in support of LLSC and have the option to make a cash donation.
For more information or to donate please visit www.bottledrive.ca
Note: Media looking for b-roll, photos or comment are encouraged to contact The Beer Store media relations at the information below.
Empty Returns
The Beer Store encourages customers to continue returning more than the approximate 1.6 billion alcohol containers we process annually to one of our local TBS locations or an empty return dealer located close by. The following alcohol containers can be returned to collect your deposit back: beer, wine and spirits bottles, aluminum cans, plastic bottles, tetra packs and kegs.
We remind consumers that all grocery stores that sell alcohol will be required to return empties starting January 1, 2026. This is part of consumer retail alcohol modernization, found in the Early Implementation Agreement.
To help ensure that customers can still purchase beer and return empties, 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 find an alternative beer retailer, please use the Province’s website locator at: Where to buy Alcoholic Beverages.
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 the largest beer retailer in Ontario. It’s logistics division has 26 points of distribution strategically located across the province to meet the needs of customers. The Beer Store proudly distributed 2.92 million hectoliters of beer to over 13,000 customers in 2024. In 2024, The Beer Store added over 5,300 new customers to its distribution network. The Beer Store is deeply committed to responsible sales and not selling to minors and 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 6,500 hard-working Ontarians with well-paying full and part-time jobs.
The Beer Store has updated its images and background information catalogue for media use. When you click on the store images link, you can download a folder of store photos that you can use.
The link is located here: https://www.thebeerstore.ca/about-us/contact-tbs/store- images/
Media Contact
The Beer Store
