The City of Richmond in British Columbia, Canada, has expanded its recycling program to collect flexible plastic packaging.
Image: Mayor Malcolm Brodie of the City of Richmond, BC, Canada at the Olympic Speedskating Oval. (February 2009). Photo: courtesy of Urban Mixer (Raj Taneja).
The City of Richmond is now collecting flexible plastic packaging like chip bags and stand up pouches at the Richmond Recycling Depot as part of its commitment to support residents in diverting 80 per cent of household waste from the landfill.
As one of the fastest growing packaging types in the market, recycling flexible plastic packaging will help to reduce household waste.
Mayor Malcolm Brodie said: “Richmond residents have consistently been leaders in recycling and thanks to their efforts, we are diverting 78 per cent of household waste from the landfill.
“We have a target to divert 80 per cent of waste by 2020, and this new program, combined with other recycling such as the Green Cart program, will help us achieve the remaining two per cent.”
This expanded service is being offered as part of the City’s partnership with Recycle BC. It includes a broad range of common household packaging items as follows:
Stand-up and Zipper Lock Pouches
o Zipper lock bags and pouches for fresh foods like grapes and deli meat, frozen foods like prawns and peas, dried goods like granola, quinoa and sugar
o Stand-up pouches for baby food and hand soap refills
Crinkly Wrappers and Bags
o Bags for potato chips, candy, dried pasta, coffee and cereal
o Cellophane for flowers and gift baskets
o Wrappers for cheese slices, snack bars and instant noodles
Flexible Packaging with Plastic Seal
o Packaging for fresh pasta, pre-packaged deli meats and pre-packaged cheese
Woven and Net Plastic Bags
o Net bags for avocados, onions, oranges, lemons and limes
o Woven plastic bags for rice
Non-food Protective Packaging
o Protective plastic like plastic shipping envelopes, plastic air packets and bubble wrap
These materials must be kept separate from rigid plastic packaging and containers, which means they are not accepted in curbside collection programs. Flexible plastic packaging, plastic bags and overwrap must also be kept separate when using the free drop off recycling at the Recycling Depot (5555 Lynas Lane, Richmond.
The City’s contract with Recycle BC requires that these materials be collected at the depot and not through curbside recycling as the extra sorting costs would make recycling these materials uneconomic.
To help raise awareness of the expanded recycling program, Richmond City Council has allocated $2,500 in prize money to be awarded to local schools who most successfully promote the new recycling opportunities. Details of the contest will be announced in the near future.
Source: Press Release.