Coffee deposit idea lost steam in 2008

I lived abroad from 2000 to 2008. I'm surprised to find in 2008 there was some momentum in Ontario and Alberta to institute a takeout cup deposit scheme. The Toronto Star has this article. Money shot quote:

If I were the head of a large coffee company [Tim Hortons], I would say I am spending so much of my time fighting off the bad news by the media – because coffee cups are all over ditches – so why don't we come up with a solution that makes us look like the greenest company around?" Morawski said. "It's not like if they don't do it they will be sitting status quo," she said. "I don't believe that the status quo will last much longer. I think they are going to be pushed by government to do things they don't want to do.

Despite Morawski's prediction, three years later, governments have failed people who actually enjoy clean streets, clean front lawns, and clean bus shelters. However did Toronto get a 5 cent bag fee passed when it can't get a takeout cup deposit law passed? Maybe it's because grocery stores get to keep the 5 cents where as Tim Hortons et al would have to actually work in the lifecycle cost, instead of shifting the burden to city tax payers and property owners who have to pickup piggy Tim Hortons customer trash?

Part of my time abroad I lived in Seoul. Korea had a 5 cent deposit on takeout cups and  if you were drinking in the cafe you were given a glass mug. I mean, I think, coffee chains here offer a glass mug but they seem to leave it up to the customers to ask. In Korea you would be asked straight up "mug or to-go cup?"

Most coffee chains in Korea automated the deposit system. There was a station where you placed your cup in a bin, pressed a button, and got your 5 cents back (well, technically it was a 5 won coin). Myself, I rarely ever took the refund, preferring simply to slip it into one of the recycle chutes and leave. It's natural in any kind of deposit system that a company will take in more than it pays out. By law, Korean coffee chains had to account for the difference and then rebate it to customers in some form. This usually took the form of free Starbucks SWAG 2 or 3 times a year. So, I knew even though I was walking away from 5 cents, I'd get it back in some cool Starbucks SWAG like a mug, tote bag, or cap.

I don't suggest takeout coffee establishments in Toronto have to make sure deposits in = deposits out. There's no doubt a large administrative cost. I would be more than happy if Tim Hortons et al were allowed to keep the difference at the end of each financial quarter.