The Comox Strathcona waste management (CSWM) service will be removing the bins for recycling glass from all the multi-material recycling depots effective July 15 due to the lack of options currently available to recycle this commodity.
For glass to be recycled, it must be sorted and shipped to out-of-province factories to be made into new glass, as there is no longer a glass recycling facility in B.C. The glass collected at the recycling depots is of a poor quality in that it is often contaminated with other material, meaning that, in many instances, the product cannot be recycled anywhere.
The glass collection bins will be moved to secured and safe locations at the Campbell River and Comox Valley waste management centres where the glass will be accepted and repurposed as aggregate for roads or ground cover in the landfill. Unlike food waste, glass is an inert material that does not decompose in the landfill to produce leachate or emit harmful greenhouse gases.
“Our waste management centres have staff that can monitor the site and ensure that the material is properly placed in the recycling containers,” said CVRD’s manager of solid waste services, Tom Boatman. “Residents are encouraged to reuse a non-refundable glass container as many times as possible, then at the end of its life they can choose to bring it to the waste management centres to be repurposed on site or place it in their household garbage for pick up.”
Many glass containers require a deposit to be paid when the product is purchased, so residents should take those containers back to the point of purchase or to the Return-It bottle depots. For more information, including a video on glass recycling in today’s economy, visit www.cswm.ca/glass.
The Comox Strathcona Waste Management (CSWM) service is a function of the Comox Valley Regional District (CVRD) and is responsible for two regional waste management centres that serve the Comox Valley and Campbell River, as well as a range of transfer stations and smaller waste-handling and recycling facilities for the electoral areas of the CVRD and the Strathcona Regional District. The CSWM service manages over 100,000 tonnes of waste and recycled material and oversees a number of diversion and education programs.
– Comox Strathcona Waste Management