Metro Vancouver shocked by call to dump glass from blue boxes

Metro Vancouver directors are balking at a proposal to ban glass from blue box pickups, saying it would undermine recycling in the region.

Richmond Mayor Malcolm Brodie, chairman of Metro’s waste committee, said if residents were told to take jars and bottles to a recycling depot, many would just dump them in the garbage.

“This going to be a big problem,” Brodie said. “They have to find a way to deal with this because people are used to it.”

The suggestion is from Multi-Material B.C., a non-profit group of retailers and manufacturers that is devising a plan to reduce the amount of packaging and to make industry bear the full cost of recycling products and packaging. It includes items that are already recycled such as cardboard and hard plastics, it is expected to add more materials to the recycling stream, such as plastic foam packaging and soft plastics.

MMBC says that as part of its new system it wants to ban glass from blue boxes because it contaminates other recyclables, reducing their value.

Members of Metro’s waste committee, who heard the news for the first time Thursday, said it appears MMBC is putting profit ahead of the principles of recycling.

“It’s high-grading,” Burnaby Mayor Derek Corrigan said. “They’re just trying to pick out what’s worth the most money in the box, take that … and leave us with nothing.

Corrigan said the fear among municipalities is that MMBC is lining up to take over the entire blue box system, which makes money for municipalities.

Newsprint and paper are the most valuable commodity and are kept separate in most blue box systems. Profits from the paper pays for recycling of the tins, plastics and glass that are all tossed in the blue box together. Surrey and New Westminster have single-stream recycling, in which all products are tossed into the same blue bin for later sorting.

“Paper makes us our most money,” Corrigan said. “The rest of the stuff we’re losing money, so if we’re getting it recycled we’re doing our job. The whole purpose of this was to get as much reuse out of the system.”

Vancouver Coun. Andrea Reimer said the new plan’s goal was to reduce packaging and suggested all the players “regroup” to revisit it.

North Vancouver District Coun. Roger Bassam said the current system emphasizes reusing and recycling and he fears it is evolving into a pure business focusing on high-value products. “I don’t like the idea of separating (recycling) streams further. The reality is we’re simply trying to move waste out of our homes and reuse as much of it as possible.”

MMBC could not be reached for comment.

A market study for Metro Vancouver by EBA Engineering Consultants Ltd. last May offered insight into the potential for recycling business.

The study estimated Metro generates 1.3 million tonnes a year in six categories: carpet, glass, electronics, organics, paper and plastic. Of that amount, 630,000 tonnes are recycled and 650,000 tonnes go to landfills.