How Confusion and Inconvenience are Filling B.C. Landfills with Recyclable Plastics

SEATTLE (Scrap Monster): The organization behind B.C.'s recycling system wants residents to do more to keep plastics from going to landfills or ending up as litter — as only 45 per cent of plastic packaging used by residents is recovered for recycling.

"There's been a lot of hesitancy around recycling, but our model proves that you can have a system that responsibly manages and recycles these plastics," said Sam Baker, executive director of Recycle B.C.

Baker says if residents put plastic packaging in the right place, it will stay out of landfills and ultimately get made into new products.

"If residents are going to do the work to put that material in the bin or take to the depot, we're going to do our job to make sure that gets recycled."

In 2024, residents either put into their blue boxes or took to depots 31,362 tonnes of plastic packaging — from Ziploc bags to yogurt containers — of which 98 per cent was recycled, according to Recycle B.C.'s latest annual report.

B.C.'s not-for-profit system, introduced 10 years ago, was the first in North America to require producers to pay for the packaging and paper they create to be recycled, lifting the burden from local governments.

Its success is measured, in part, by subtracting the net tonnes collected from the tonnes reported by producers, which is the recovery rate.

In 2024, Recycle B.C. recovered 100 per cent of glass made by producers and used by residents, and 92 per cent of paper.

The recovery of plastics, however, falls far short of that — combined, less than half of the rigid and flexible plastics residents use end up being diverted and recycled, meaning the rest go in the garbage.

The recovery of plastic bags and wrapping trails far behind the recovery of things like plastic containers.

 Courtesy: www.cbc.ca