5 little-known facts about recycling packaging and paper in BC
We’re taught from an early age about the importance of reducing our carbon footprint. But, as we buy packaged goods or shop more online, it’s important to educate ourselves on how we can manage our packaging safely and responsibly. That way, we can ensure materials that could otherwise get reused or recycled don’t end up in a landfill.
According to Recycle BC’s 2021 annual report, over 229,000 tonnes of recycling were collected as part of the packaging and paper product program — an increase of over 5% from 2020.
While the statistics may surprise you, we can each do our part to help minimize our impact on the environment by reducing, reusing, and recycling all accepted packaging and paper. The process helps keep waste out of our landfills and the environment, and here in BC, we hit a record-high recovery rate of recyclable materials at over 94%.
To help avoid any confusion around recycling — and what should go into your blue recycling bins or bags – here are five little-known facts about how to recycle properly in BC.
Fact: BC has a long list of materials you can recycle
Recycle BC services over 2.03 million households in 183 communities. With so much coverage by one company, the province must certainly have a smaller material list of packaging and paper recycling programs than the rest of the country.
Actually, BC has one of the largest material lists of any program in Canada, including many items that are not currently accepted in other localities around the country.
When Recycle BC launched in 2014, it expanded the existing material list and made it consistent throughout BC. Today, it includes items like coffee cups, plant pots, beauty product packaging, empty coffee pods, and spiral-wound cans. You can see the full list of accepted materials on its website — with more materials being added in 2023.
Fact: you can recycle plastic bags in BC
This past June, the Federal government announced that it would ban the manufacture and import of single-use plastics this year. This ban will include a number of single-use plastics like cutlery, ring carriers, stir sticks, straws (with some exceptions), and, most importantly, grocery bags.
Environment and Climate Change Canada says that this ban will result in the elimination of nearly 1.3 million tonnes of hard-to-recycle plastic waste and over 22,000 tonnes of plastic pollution within the decade.
Until then, flexible plastics — including plastic bags, overwrap, and other flexible plastic packaging (think stand-up, zipper-lock pouches, and crinkly wrappers) — can be dropped off at a recycling depot or a London Drugs store to ensure they are effectively recovered and recycled here in BC. What about all that rigid protective foam packaging that comes with your electronics and appliance orders? That can be returned to a depot, too.
Fact: the plastics collected in BC are processed in BC
If you’ve ever read about countries shipping plastic waste to the other side of the world for processing, you might assume the same happens with the residential plastic packaging collected in BC. However, in 2021, Recycle BC shipped its highest amount of material yet to local North American end markets.
Over 97% of the plastics collected in BC were sold to a local end market in Metro Vancouver, the majority of which were converted into pellets for new products and packaging.
The plastic is converted into raw materials and sold to be made into new products or packaging. For a small amount of the non-recyclable material collected, plastics are recovered into an engineered fuel product to replace non-renewable resources such as coal.
Fact: the BC government doesn’t fund recycling programs
There’s a common misconception that the government funds Recycle BC’s recycling programs; however, this isn’t the case. Recycle BC is a not-for-profit organization and an extended producer responsibility (EPR) program for residential packaging and paper. What this means is that the businesses that supply packaging and paper to BC residents take responsibility for the end-of-life management of those materials and fund Recycle BC’s program.
This, in turn, moves the costs away from local governments and homeowners. For context, 1,163 producers provided over $132 million in revenue to fund Recycle BC’s program and services in 2021.
Fact: recycling impacts our oceans
BC’s waters are home to some of the world’s most majestic creatures, and another myth about recycling is that doing it more often won’t make a difference to our oceans and environment. But the reality is that ensuring recyclable materials end up in the right place (hint: your recycling bins or at a drop-off location) helps keep them out of the environment. Recycling all the packaging and paper you can at home or at a depot (i.e. flexible plastics and foam packaging) allows Recycle BC to manage and recycle more material responsibly, so it can be used to make new products and packaging.
Recycling reduces waste and contributes to a circular economy — leading to environmental, social, and economic benefits. If more accepted materials are collected, then more can be recycled. Therefore, you play a crucial role in the recycling process by ensuring all accepted materials are set out or taken to a depot for collection.
Recycle BC processes over 200,000 tonnes of material each year, equating to the weight of 33,000 orca whales. This demonstrates a province-wide effort towards a more sustainable future.
To learn more about the impact that you can have and find a depot in your area, visit Recycle BC’s website.
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