Recycling in evolutionary stage

British Columbia’s new recycling program has sometimes been confusing for consumers but Powell River appears to be faring well in its implementation.

Multi-Material British Columbia’s (MMBC) program is designed to ensure everything collected for recycling is recycled. In the past, some recyclables have ended up in the landfill.

At a community-to-community forum held Thursday, July 24, Colin Palmer, Powell River Regional District chair, said the regional board will have a thorough review next month. The community-to-community meetings are held quarterly to allow regional district, City of Powell River and Tla’amin (Sliammon) Nation representatives to discuss matters of mutual interest.

Mike Wall, regional district manager of community services, said operationally the MMBC program was right around the three-month mark. This community has already been inspected by an auditor who arrived unannounced to check out the depots. The auditor said the local depots are among the best they’ve seen, according to Wall.

“Our depot operators are probably better educated than any, the depots are clean and run well,” he said. “[MMBC] are extremely impressed. A lot of that has to do with, especially the educational part, the women from the Let’s Talk Trash team.”

The local program was launched with a public forum at Evergreen Theatre that turned out “very well,” he said.

“Everybody seemed to get onboard and listen to the educational part of it,” Wall said. “Further to that we’ve had emails and phone calls, so we’ve been diligent following up, returning calls.”

Wall said there has also been follow-up to a Peak letter to the editor expressing frustration with the new recycling system. Inger-Lise Burns, of the Let’s Talk Trash team, said she followed up and the complainant appreciated the personal contact to explain the changes.

There have also been two garbage dumping cases where the dumping was being blamed on the new MMBC program, reported Wall.

“I followed up on both and that wasn’t the case at all,” Wall said. “One of them was just partiers on the weekend. At Black Point store, someone threw garbage over the fence of the recycling depot during the evening. They were nice enough to leave a pill bottle with their address on it so we could follow up.”

Dave Murphy, Texada Island (Area D) regional director, said the program appears to be working well on Texada Island. He said the depot is clean and the employees are doing an excellent job.

Wall is hoping the new depot in the city beside Rona Building centre will be open on September 2.

There have been some surprises in initiating this recycling program. For example, Palmer said there was never an expectation that the regional district would be paying for MMBC’s depots or the staffing.

“We’ve been blindsided,” he said. “Corporations have persuaded taxpayers to finance the depots.” This is a matter that local governments can discuss with the minister at the Union of BC Municipalities annual general meeting in September, Palmer said.

Wall agreed there have been challenges and that the program has turned out to be different than initial expectations. For example, the regional district thought fenced areas containing the large green recycling bins that have been in use would be okay.

“That didn’t work out,” Wall said. “It had to be a fenced area with full staffing.”

Councillor Myrna Leishman asked about additional garbage making its way into the recycling stream. Burns said in past, with the old recycling green bins, people were dropping off recycling and there would be contamination from garbage, sometimes by as much as 40 per cent.

“It was very high and a lot of people didn’t know that glass wasn’t being recycled; it was being landfilled,” Burns said. Currently, recyclables being collected are clean and contamination rates are “extremely low.” All items collected are being recycled without some being diverted into the waste stream, or at least that’s the promise from MMBC.

Local interest appears to be high. Abby McLennan, also a member of the Let’s Talk Trash team, said there were more than 100 people at the open house in June and another is planned for September.

Murphy asked if there is any money to be made in recycling. McLennan said transportation costs negate any profit.

Councillor Debbie Dee asked if staffing of depots is the responsibility of the regional district.

Wall said when he initially looked at the proposal in February, an example was given of how a depot might operate. Wall said he thought there might be a works yard or a store where collecting bins could be located, and a staff person could check them occasionally, and that would be considered staffing.

“As we got closer to launch date, suddenly we needed full-time staff,” Wall said.

Dee said when the matter was initially discussed, local people were of the understanding that MMBC would come here and set everything up.

“I’m a little ticked off,” said Palmer. “I’m not sure the government knows what’s going on. This is why we should get to the minister.”