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What was supposed to be an environmentally friendly modernization of Quebec’s deposit-return system is now being denounced by a growing number of citizens as a bureaucratic disaster.

After removing bottle-return machines from grocery stores and convenience stores and replacing them with Consignaction centres, the Quebec government is facing mounting frustration on the ground.

Long lineups, broken machines, cash shortages, and accessibility issues for vulnerable individuals have left many Montreal residents arguing that the reform has made an already functional system far more complicated.

For many, the problem is straightforward. “They started with the end instead of the beginning,” said one visibly frustrated citizen. Another added, “I don’t know what they were thinking by removing the machines. Honestly, it’s stupid.”

The consequences appear to be hitting low-income individuals and the homeless particularly hard. One man, who said he is living with cancer and surviving on just $621 a month in social assistance, described a system he considers inaccessible.

“Homeless people collect all the cans. When they get here, there are too many. Sometimes the machines that give out money don’t have any cash left. It makes them aggressive. Even I get aggressive, and I’m not homeless,” he said.

Others reported spending hours simply trying to redeem their deposits.

“Last Friday, I waited three hours to get through,” one citizen said. “Last month there was no money. Twice the machine was empty.”

Several residents now fear Quebecers will simply stop participating in the system altogether.

“I’m sure some people are fed up and will just throw everything into recycling,” predicted one man. Another said he has already witnessed people abandoning their bags of containers after becoming frustrated. “People are sick of it,” he said.

While Consignaction insists that improvements are coming, many citizens are questioning why the government removed the old return machines before the replacement infrastructure was fully operational.

For critics, a reform that was supposed to encourage recycling may instead discourage the very people who had been faithfully returning their containers for decades.