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What Happens To Your Recycling
Ever wonder what happens to your recycling after it’s carted away? Sorting your materials is just the first step in the journey.
The End Market
Your Recycling’s Second Life
The end market refers to the final link in the chain — in the case of recycling in B.C., we’re talking about the final product your material becomes.
Many of the items you place in your bin remain in B.C., Canada and North America. Locally, plastic and glass remain in the province.
- Hard plastics, plastic bags and overwrap are transformed into plastic pellets in Metro Vancouver that can be used to create new products.
- Soft, flexible plastics stay in B.C. as part of a research program to best determine their disposal, while some is turned into an engineered fuel that can replace coal in industrial applications.
- Glass also remains in B.C., where it is turned into more glass containers or sandblasting material.
The recycling market has fluctuated significantly over time, but you can help ensure we continue to recover materials by avoiding contamination and sorting your garbage and recycling correctly.
Extended Producer Responsibility
More Accountability at Every Step
The Extended Producer Responsibility legislation in B.C. holds manufacturers accountable for the life cycle of the products they produce. This legislation takes the recycling cost away from residents and governments into the hands of the manufacturer. The result is also less waste, more recovery, and promotes more easily recyclable packaging design. Learn more about Extended Producer Responsibility in BC