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Recycling company boosts green efforts in Port Coquitlam

A Return-It depot in Port Coquitlam isn’t just helping the environment by recycling bottles and cans, it’s also combatting greenhouse gas emissions with a new hybrid-electric compaction truck.
Allen Langdon
Return-It president and CEO, Allen Langdon, at the wheel of one of the company's 16 hybrid-electric compactor trucks. It has been deployed to its Port Coquitlam outlet as part of a pilot project to help reduce carbon emmissions.

A Return-It depot in Port Coquitlam isn’t just helping the environment by recycling bottles and cans, it’s also combatting greenhouse gas emissions with a new hybrid-electric compaction truck.

The Hyliion truck is one of 16 deployed to depots across the Lower Mainland as a pilot project to help the company reduce its emission of greenhouse gases from recycling beverage containers by up to 25%. It incorporates an electric axle to reduce fuel consumption, and its large capacity compactor that can transport 900,000 containers will reduce the number of trips that need to be made from recycling depots to processing facilities.

Return-It president and CEO Allen Langdon said the pilot project is the company’s first step to transitioning its entire transportation fleet to greener technology.

“We recognize we can do more to decarbonize our transportation network,” he said.

Bruce Ralston, the provincial minister for energy, mines and petroleum resources, said the increasing use of lower-emission technology in transportation fleets will help British Columbia meet goals to reduce greenhouse gases.

“Heavy duty diesel trucks are responsible for nearly a quarter of all transportation emissions in B.C.,” he said.

According to a press release, Return-It’s recycling efforts last year contributed to a reduction of approximately 105,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalents being released into the atmosphere.