Battle brewing over grocery stores that don’t want your dirty empties

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A big battle is brewing between the Ford government and some independent grocery store owners over who should be responsible for collecting people’s empty booze bottles.

By Jan. 1, 2026, all grocery stores licensed to sell beer and wine in Ontario must accept bottle returns as part of Premier Doug Ford’s vision of speeding up the availability of alcohol.

But a growing number of independent grocers are deciding to ditch booze sales altogether rather than deal with the mess and hassle of accepting people’s empties. They say they don’t have the space or resources to accept large amounts of empty bottles, and that the unsanitary containers don’t belong anywhere near food items people buy.

Joining us to talk about the issue on tonight’s Closer Look podcast is Gary Sands, vice-president of government relations at the Canadian Federation of Independent Grocers.

Bottles aside, we also explore some other pressing topics, including U.S. tariffs, inter-provincial trade, and what you really need to know in order to “Buy Canadian.”

Hosted by Village Media’s Michael Friscolanti and Scott Sexsmith, and produced by Derek Turner, Closer Look is a new daily podcast that goes way beyond the headlines with insightful, in-depth conversations featuring our reporters and editors, leading experts, key stakeholders and big newsmakers.

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