Green By Nature EPR to lead BC's post-pickup network for packaging

A national organization has been selected to manage the post-collection recycling system for BC’s packaging and printed paper, a move that will see an investment of $32 million, as well as the creation of nearly 600 jobs and two new facilities.

Stewardship agency Multi-Material BC (MMBC) will work with Green by Nature EPR (GBN), which won the contract to begin managing the processing and marketing of approximately 185,000 tonnes of packaging from some 1.25 million BC households.

The new system will launch on May 19, 2014, as BC begins its shift towards transferring recycling costs from taxpayers to businesses.  MMBC will embark on a mission to meet its 75 per cent recovery target for the province’s packaging and printed paper, and help boost the province’s sustainability.

GBN is a new organization founded by three well-known industry leaders with some 40 years of experience in BC: Cascades Recovery, one of Canada’s largest collectors, processors and marketers of recyclable materials; Emterra Environmental– one of Canada’s largest waste resource management, organics and recyclables collection companies; and Merlin Plastics – a North American pioneer in plastics recycling and marketing.

GBN will also engage more than 20 subcontractors in their local communities to be part of the integrated province-wide MMBC post-collection system.

The two new facilities under GBN include a container recycling facility in BC’s Lower Mainland, designed to maximize sorting efficiency, recovery and the quality of recovered products; and, a material recovery facility in Nanaimo that will sort and prepare collected material for shipment to downstream processors and end markets.

“Being selected by MMBC – the most extensive industry-led product stewardship program ever to be implemented in BC – means that Green by Nature EPR has the opportunity to not only employ existing recycling infrastructure but also make significant investments in BC’s recycling infrastructure that have not been possible until now,” said Albino Metauro, CEO of Green by Nature EPR, in a joint statement to media with MMBC. [Source: Recycling Council of Ontario]