May 2022

Recycling Depot is now accepting non-packaging plastics!

Spring is now in full swing, and perhaps you are engaging in the ancient ritual of Spring Cleaning or generally tidying up your house and yard. Possibly you have encountered items such as the kids plastic beach ball, or that broken Adirondack chair that Uncle Joe sat on a bit too heavily last summer? Perhaps you are wondering what to do with this inconvenient detritus of our consumer society?

So, the big question is: Does the Mayne Island Recycling Depot accept such articles?
And the answer is: no, and YES! 

To explain this conundrum, it is necessary to have a brief glance into the byzantine world of how recycling is funded in BC. As far as plastics is concerned, ONLY plastics used in packaging are funded for recycling under the Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) programs that are the key for all recycling in BC. Perhaps that will change in the future, but it is not on the horizon at the moment.

So, in accepting non-packaging plastics at the Depot, the Recycling Society has to absorb the full cost of collecting, sorting, baling and transporting these items. However we do not want to see these items ending up in the landfill, as may often happen today.
So, the Recycling Board has taken the decision that we will now accept non-packaging plastics (within reason and our ability to store the materials, at the Depot Managers discretion), BUT we respectfully request that these be accompanied by a financial donation.  Your generosity will help us to cover the costs of this service. However no beach ball will be turned away due to financial inability to make such a donation!

We are fortunate that we are able to send these non-packaging plastics to Merlin Plastics in Vancouver. Merlin have been a pioneer in plastics recycling for many years, and will ensure Uncle Joe’s Adirondack chair will be recycled into something useful, for example plastic decking.

We hope that this initiative will help further reduce the island’s ecological footprint.​