The Thompson-Nicola Regional District’s (TNRD) expanded Mandatory Recyclable Material program will be fully implemented at solid waste facilities throughout the region this month.
Most items included in Mandatory Recyclable Material bylaw are part of the provincial Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) program. It means that consumers pay a handling fee for these products at the time they are purchased, which covers the cost of take-back programs when the items are taken to solid waste facilities in B.C. at the end of their life.
The Mandatory Recyclable Material bylaw was first implemented in fall 2022 and only applied to corrugated cardboard. Following a bylaw amendment approved by the TNRD board of directors in fall 2023, this bylaw now includes all materials regulated by the provincial Recycling Regulation EPR programs. These materials include antifreeze and antifreeze containers; batteries, including lead-acid batteries; electronics and electrical products (including metal appliances); flammable liquids and solvents; fluorescent lights; gasoline and diesel; paint and paint containers; pharmaceutical products and medications; oil, oil filters, and oil containers; refundable beverage containers; residential pesticide products; residential packaging and printed paper (including mixed containers, fiber, styrofoam, flexible plastics, and glass); and tires.
Once fully implemented, penalties may be issued for non-compliance. Loads may be subject to a volume-based fine if they exceed the maximum allowable threshold of 10 per cent of residential packaging, printed paper, cardboard, or beverage containers (that is, more than 10 per cent of the load consists of some combination of these items), or a unit-based fine if a load contains any amounts of other EPR materials that are listed above. Volume-based penalties are 50 per cent of what the disposal fee for the entire load would be, and unit-based penalties are $50 per unit.
Enforcement will focus on all commercial, municipal, and residential loads. Enforcement will only be conducted by TNRD bylaw officers. Facility staff, such as scale attendants, will not have the authority to issue fines.
The expansion of the TNRD’s disposal ban is guided by the 2018 Regional Solid Waste Management Plan. The Plan sets a goal of reducing the TNRD’s annual per-person landfill disposal rate to 500 kilograms per person by 2028. As of 2021, the per-person landfill disposal rate of TNRD residents was 639 kilograms, which was 23 per cent higher than the average in B.C.
For more information on mandatory recycling in the TNRD, visit www.tnrd.ca/mandatoryrecycling.