New recycling options are available for recycling flexible plastic food bags — just not yet in the Tri-Cities.
As of Friday, June 1, stand-up pouches, plastic fruit bags, Zipper lock pouches, crinkly potato chip bags, cellophane for flowers and gift baskets, deli meats and cheese packaging, mail packaging containing bubble wrap and net bags for produce will be collected by 116 depots throughout the province as part of a research project led by Recycle BC.
However, Tri-City residents will likely have to wait until Jan. 1 before they can recycle this form of plastic at a Recycle BC depot here.
Still, the addition to the recycling options comes as Coquitlam residents are being asked to recycle their squeeze tubes in a pilot project and keen recyclers can take this plastic to depots in New Westminster and Maple Ridge for now.
The closest participating depots are as follows:
• Maple Ridge Recycling Depot 10092 236 St, Maple Ridge
• Haney Bottle Depot #2 22935 Lougheed Hwy, Maple Ridge
• Queensborough Landing 409 Boyne St, New Westminster
• Sapperton Return-It Depot Sapperton Return-It Depot 79 Braid St #21, New Westminster
Find out more here: https://recyclebc.ca/flexiblepackaging/.
Recycle BC has partnered with Merlin Plastics to come up with a solution to recycle this type of packaging, which presents challenges due to the combined materials involved.
For those who do return the packaging to a participating Recycle BC depot, there is no refund for this material. The materials also can’t be placed in city-provided waste carts.
