B.C.'s blue box recycling system to accept more items, primarily single-use plastics

British Columbia is increasing the types of items it accepts for recycling in its residential blue box program.

The Ministry of Environment and Climate Change says it is adding more single-use plastic items and packaging products to its list of items accepted in blue boxes and provincial recycling depots.

The ministry says the newly accepted items are generally ones thrown out after a single use, such as plastic sandwich bags, party cups, bowls and plates.

It says single-use plastics are some of the most common items found on B.C.'s shores.

The newly accepted blue box items list includes: plastic food storage containers, plastic cutlery and straws, aluminum foil baking dishes and pie plates, and aluminum foil and thin gauge metal storage tins. A full list of the items can be found on the Recycle B.C. website.

The ministry says over the next four years, B.C. plans to extend its producer responsibility collection and recycling requirements to include mattresses, electric-vehicle batteries and medical sharps, which are syringes and lancets.

"This expanded materials list will allow more material to be recycled, keep it out of landfills and stop it from littering the environment," Recycle B.C. Executive Director Tamara Burns said in a statement.

"Residents play a key role in recycling this material by enabling it to be collected, by putting it into their bins or taking materials to a depot."

Metro Vancouver is one of the regions encouraging residents to divert waste from landfills by using the blue bin recycling program. Though single-use plastics are not banned across the country, in December, a federal ban on the manufacture and import of some single-use plastics, such as shopping bags, came into effect.

This year the B.C. government is expected to deliver on a promise to introduce a province-wide plastic bag ban, with fees for paper bags and a new reusable bag set at 25 cents and $2, respectively.