Recycling in Canada
This article outlines the position and trends of
As of 2012, Canada has a recycling rate around 26.8%.[1]
History
In 1981 Resource Integration Systems (RIS) in collaboration with
By province
Municipalities and provinces with recycling programs:
- Ontario – Toronto, Hamilton, Ottawa, Northumberland County, Durham, York, Niagara, Halton, Peel Regions, Woodstock, Thunder Bay
- Prince Edward Island
- Quebec – Montreal, Quebec City, Laval
- British Columbia – Metro Vancouver Region, Victoria
- Nova Scotia – seven different regions: Cape Breton, Pictou-Antigonish-Guysborough, East Hants-Cumberland-Colchester, Halifax Regional Municipality, Annapolis-Kings, South Shore-West Hants, Yarmouth Digby[3]
- Saskatchewan – Moose Jaw, Regina, Saskatoon, Prince Albert
- Alberta – Edmonton, Calgary, Medicine Hat, Fort McMurray, Canmore
- Manitoba – Winnipeg
- Newfoundland and Labrador – St. John's
Alberta
In
A separate management authority, the
The Recycling Council of Alberta is a registered charity which has promoted recycling in Alberta since 1987.[7] Specific industry groups lobby for their niche within the recycling sector, such as the Alberta Plastics Recycling Association.[8]
By contrast Calgary conducted a pilot project on curbside recycling in 1991 and then abandoned curbside collection for a drop-off system until a second pilot program in 2004,[10][11] and currently collects recyclates only at private houses, with no plans to introduce collection at condo and apartment buildings before 2015.[12]
Edmonton started their curbside recycling program in 1988.[13] In 2021, Edmonton transitioned from a bag to cart system for garbage and food waste collection.[14]
On September 10, 2020, the Edmonton city council approved a 25-year waste strategy to reduce the landfill waste by 90%. The city is also transitioning into a new cart system rather from the blue bag system to dispose of waste.[15]
Recycling Rate
Canada has an extremely high rate of
According to a 2019 study, only 9 percent of waste in Canada goes to recycling.[21]
As of 2019, British Columbia has the highest recycling rate, at 69 percent.[22] In Ontario, the recycling rate has declined from 60.2% in 2018 to 57.3% in 2019.[23]
Collection processes
The
- Wheeled Blue bin – Toronto, Calgary, Essex-Windsor, Winnipeg
- Green box – used in North York, Ontario
- Barrie, Ontario, British Columbia
- Grey box – paper and paperboard – North York, Ontario, Barrie, Ontario
- Compost and waste bins and blue bags for recycling in Edmonton, Alberta
- Blue bag used in St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador
Materials collected
The different types of recyclable materials collected include:
- Newspapers, including paper flyers
- Office paper and letter mail
- Envelopes (without bubble wrap inside)
- Glass jars and bottles
- Metal cans – soup cans
- telephone books
- Plastics – Type 1 PETE and 2 HDPE and 4 LDPE
- Compostable materials (excluding grease)
- Toys and clothing – for re-sale or re-use
- Motor oil
- Tires – some re-treaded, some mixed with asphalt for road resurfacing; re-used in playgrounds; pylons used for construction and road work crews
- Beer bottles through deposit systems (Beer Store program in Ontario)
- Liquor bottles through deposit systems
- Pop cansand bottles through deposit systems (especially Quebec)
- Ink cartridges
- Cell phoneand most batteries (including automotive)
- Fluorescent lamp recycling
- Styrofoam within Nova Scotia in most regions
- Clothing – some sold for re-use, re-purposed locally or shipped overseas
See also
References
- ^ Waste Atlas (2012) Country Data: Canada
- ^ McGinnis, J., Findlay, R., Rathbone, G., Shantora, V., &Oliver, B. (n.d.). The blue box story, the history. Retrieved from "Durham Sustain Ability, Environmental Sustainability Program Ontario". Archived from the original on 2013-08-02. Retrieved 2013-07-29.; O'Connor, Ryan. (2015). The First Green Wave: Pollution Probe and the Origins of Environmental Activism in Ontario. Vancouver, BC: UBC Press.
- ^ "About Solid Waste-Resource Management | Recycling and Waste | Nova Scotia Environment". April 2009.
- ^ Alberta Recycling Management Authority – Vision, Mission & Goals. Albertarecycling.ca. Retrieved on 2011-04-02.
- ^ I want to recycle my... – Alberta Environment. Environment.alberta.ca (2010-04-16). Retrieved on 2011-04-02.
- ^ About ABCRC. Abcrc.com. Retrieved on 2011-04-02.
- ^ Welcome to the Recycling Council of Alberta – Mission and Goals. Recycle.ab.ca. Retrieved on 2011-04-02.
- ^ APRA. Recycleyourplastic.ca. Retrieved on 2011-04-02.
- ^ History of Waste Management in Edmonton, City of Edmonton. Retrieved on 2011-04-02.
- ^ Calgary's Recycling History, The City of Calgary. Retrieved on 2011-04-02.
- ^ City of Calgary Gets Set to Roll Out its Blue Cart Recycling Program, The City of Calgary, April 6, 2009
- ^ Cuthbertson, Richard. (2011-03-08) Calgary condo residents must wait until 2015 for recycling program. Calgary Herald. Retrieved on 2011-04-02.
- ^ "Recycling". City of Edmonton. Retrieved 4 March 2021.
- ^ "Waste Collection | City of Edmonton".
- ^ "Edmonton Cart Rollout Demonstration Phase | City of Edmonton".
- ^ "Canada one-step closer to zero plastic waste by 2030". 7 October 2020.
- ^ Greenpeace Southeast Asia. (2018, November 27). The recycling myth. Retrieved from: https://www.greenpeace.org/southeastasia/publication/549/the-recycling-myth/
- ^ Statistics Canada. (2019). Materials diverted, by type. Table: 38-10-0034-01. Retrieved from: https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/t1/tbl1/en/tv.action?pid=3810003401
- ^ Deloitte & Cheminfo Services Inc. (2019). Economic study of the Canadian plastic industry, markets and waste. Environment and Climate Change Canada. Retrieved from: http://publications.gc.ca/collections/collection_2019/eccc/En4-366-1-2019- eng.pdf
- ^ Aldag, J. (June 2019). The last straw: turning the tide on plastic pollution in Canada; Report of the standing committee on environment and sustainable development. House of Commons.
- ^ "Canada is drowning in plastic waste — and recycling won't save us". 9 March 2021.
- ^ "Before you recycle those unwashed takeout containers, consider where your blue bin recyclables actually end up". 17 July 2019.
- ^ "Canadian EPR program sees decline in recycling rate". 31 August 2021.
External links
- Performance Measurement and Reporting for Extended Producer Responsibility Programs
- Recycling Council of British Columbia
- Recycling Council of Alberta
- Recycling Council of Ontario
- News