Are you unsure what to do with your plastic bags, soft plastic packaging, or foam packaging? One organization is making a difference and helping ensure Fraser Valley residents have more opportunities to recycle their packaging and paper.
Recycle BC, the not-for-profit organization responsible for residential packaging and paper recycling in BC, is hosting a series of pop-up depots in the Fraser Valley Regional District this summer. Events are being held in Boston Bar, Harrison Hot Springs, Hope and Sunshine Valley on a rotating schedule from July to September.
“The pop-up depots allow residents in these or surrounding communities to bring their packaging and paper to us for convenient recycling,” says Lyndsey Chauhan, Director of Marketing Communications at Recycle BC.
The pop-up depots accept paper, cardboard, plastic containers, metal containers, cartons, non-deposit glass bottles and jars, foam packaging, plastic bags and overwrap, and flexible plastic packaging. For a complete list of pop-up events and locations, visit RecycleBC.ca/popup.
“To help prepare for your visit, you can pre-sort your materials, but we will have staff onsite to help with the process. All you need to do is show up with your packaging and paper recycling,” says Chauhan.
Recycle BC was created in 2014 after the province enacted legislation requiring a business that supplies packaging and paper products to BC residents to assume responsibility for the cost of collecting, sorting, and recycling these materials.
They service more than two million households - more than 99 per cent of BC - through curbside, multi-family, and depot services. Recycle BC collects more than 210,000 tonnes of materials annually, an average of more than 41 kilograms per person.
The program is fully funded by companies like retailers, manufacturers and restaurants, shifting costs away from homeowners.
“We are a leader in extended producer responsibility,” says Chauhan. “We ensure packaging and paper products are collected from households and recycling depots, sorted and responsibly managed and recycled.”
In addition to offering recycling services, Recycle BC educates residents on how to recycle correctly, ensuring the long-term success of its program.
“We would love to see you. Stop by, learn, and recycle,” says Chauhan.
Recycle BC provides recycling services directly to communities or works in partnership with local governments, First Nations, private companies, and other not-for-profit organizations. There are 183 communities that participate in the recycling collection program and more that utilize the recycling depots service.
If residents can’t attend one of the pop-up depot events, Recycle BC’s permanent depot list can be searched at RecycleBC.ca/depots.