Thank you, Madam Chair. I will go through what we are now handing out to Members. As well, I would just like to inform Members that as the Department of Resources, Wildlife and Economic Development moves forward on its recycling initiative, this portion of it will change because it will be incorporated into the program that is now going to be administered through Resources, Wildlife and Economic Development.

So the information we have now is we currently have bottle return depots in Fort Simpson, Fort Smith, Yellowknife, Inuvik and Hay River. In Norman Wells, a local volunteer group collects containers and then ships them out to Hay River once a year. The containers that carry an NWT deposit are accepted and refunded by the bottle depot. In turn, we reimburse the bottle depots upon receipt of proof of refund to the customer. The containers are then destroyed at the depot; cans are shredded and bottles are crushed. Some depot operators then ship the shredded cans to a recycling plant in the South, while glass is disposed of as there is no economically-viable means of recycling at this time. The depots are also paid a handling fee per unit to cover their operating costs, and that's four cents per bottle or can. The Liquor Commission provides shredding equipment at a nominal charge of $1 per year. Molson and Labatts bottles are not included in the NWT deposit refund system as they are dealt with directly by the brewery and with the depot operator. These deposits vary between communities and are available directly from the depot operator. Molson and Labatts bottles are returned to the breweries.

The deposit fees are as follows: spirits and wine bottles, 25 cents each; cans, cider and cooler bottles, 10 cents each; and the depot handling fees are four cents per bottle or can. There were 6.2 million containers sold during 2002-2003, of which 3.9 million were returned. This accounts for approximately 63 percent of all containers sold for the year. Thank you.