Proposed changes to what can go in the blue box has Burnaby councillors worried about a drop in service for local residents.
Burnaby council asked staff to write Multi-Material B.C. regarding concerns about removing recyclable materials such as glass from curbside pickup. It is asking the agency to at least maintain all of the recyclable materials currently picked up at the curb.
Multi-Material B.C. was formed under the B.C. Society Act to develop a stewardship plan for packing and printed paper. The non-profit's board is comprised of representatives from the retail and food industries.
The agency drafted an updated list of acceptable items for pickup at the curb and drop off at the depot last November, and has added items to it. Council is concerned about glass and plastic film only being accepted at the depot under the proposed changes.
"From staff's perspective, this is a reduction in service and risk transference, as glass which goes uncollected at the curbside may likely be disposed into the garbage stream rather than being taken to the depot," Burnaby's department of engineering report states.
Municipalities have until March 1, 2014 to provide input on the proposed Packaging and Printed Paper Stewardship Plan, according to the city report. The agency is still researching the existing plan's curbside, multi-family building and depot collection costs.
Burnaby is one of the selected municipalities that received a request from the agency to review what collection cost the city last year, including administration.
At the Feb. 18 council meeting, Coun. Dan Johnston said the agency is not making decisions based on the interest of the city.
The issue is that the non-profit organization is made up of representatives from the food and retail industry, which means the city is dealing with a more privatized system, he said.
Coun. Colleen Jordan said the recycling program could change things drastically.
"It looks like a huge step backwards," she said.
Coun. Nick Volkow said he was suspicious of the agency's plans and questioned the rationale behind the drafted list.
"If it's not broken, why fix it?" he said.
But, the agency stands by its proposed change to remove glass from the blue box.
Multi-Material B.C. chair Allen Langdon says the agency is happy to hear any comments from Burnaby, but by removing glass from curbside pickup it allows more room for other acceptable items to fit into the blue box.
He says glass often breaks in the blue box and contaminates the other recyclable materials.
"It impacts the ability to recycle materials," Langdon said in a phone interview. "It's more difficult to recycle."
He said removing glass from curbside pickup and making it only a depot drop-off item isn't new, as the regional districts of Nanaimo and Central Okanagan already took these steps.
