WHEREAS the BC Recycling Regulation specifies the minimum amount for beverage container deposit or refund, this amount is lower than the minimum set out in the Alberta Beverage Container Recycling Regulation, and recovery rates will increase with higher refunds; AND WHEREAS recovery rates in BC have remained at 70-75 for many years and millions of containers still go to landfills, and travelling out of province to collect higher deposits or refunds should be discouraged: THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the Union of British Columbia Municipalities lobby the Ministry of Environment for the addition of milk containers to the Recycling Regulation.
Ministry of Environment The Recycling Regulation makes the producer responsible for the management of its products, including collection and recycling. The Beverage Container Product Category in the Recycling Regulation currently does not include containers for milk, milk substitutes, rice milk, soya milk, flavoured milk, infant formulas, meal replacements or dietary supplements. Milk containers are collected in many municipal curb-side recycling programs. In 2006, the B.C. Dairy Council BCDC started a voluntary recycling program for milk containers. BCDC has hired Encorp Pacific to assist with operating the program, which now includes providing collection services at 144 bottle depots across BC. The program is designed to supplement, not replace, existing collection efforts for milk containers including municipal curbside programs which collect plastic milk jugs. More information on BCDCs program, including their most recent annual report, can be found on Encorpss website at: http:www.encorp.cacfmindex.cfm?It940Id9Se39