People in the Comox Valley brought nearly 4,000 tonnes of material in for recycling in 2024, according to new data released by Recycle BC.
In all, 3,872 tonnes were collected in the Comox Valley regional district, a coverage area which has a population of 79,276. That's a per capita rate of 48.8 kg per person. The Strathcona Regional District coverage area had a total 2,043 tonnes with a population of 48.412 (42.2 kg per person). Mount Waddington had a total of 531 tonnes collected, which to their 11,252 population was a per capita rate of 47.1 kg per person.
The province's highest per capita rate was in the Sunshine Coast, with 62.4 kg per person. That was followed by Squamish-Lillooet with 54.9, and 50.5 for the Alberni-Clayoquot region, also the highest on Vancouver Island.
The region with the lowest per capita rate was the Northern Rockies rural municipality, which had 5.1 kg per person. The total tonnage there was 22, for a population of 4,288.
Provincially, the total tonnage recycled was 217,637 tonnes, or 38.4 kg per person.
In 2024, the Recycle BC program took in about 2.8 per cent more than it did in 2023. The recovery rate was higher too, at 83.3 per cent, compared to 79.6 per cent the year before. Recovery Rate refers to the total weight of material divided by the total weight of the material sold into the market. The recovery rate for paper was 92 per cent, plastic was lower at 45 per cent (55 for rigid plastic and 24 for flexible plastic), metal was at 69 per cent and glass had a 100 per cent recovery rate.
The report also says that 99.5 per cent of homes have access to the service, including 198 communities.
Last year marked the 10th anniversary of the extended producer responsibility program, where producers pay into the system.
"Since 2014, producers have contributed over $1.18 billion to build the most comprehensive regional recycling program for packaging and paper in North America," said board chair Robyn Collver in her statement in the annual report. "In 2024, Recycle BC continued to work on behalf of producers to improve this effective province-wide reverse supply chain for post-consumer packaging and paper, achieving a recovery rate of 83 per cent and managing 94 per cent of total tonnes by recycling."
Collver also said that 80 per cent of the material collected stays in North America for recycling, and 43 per cent stays in Canada.
"We are extremely proud that due to our collective efforts over 99 per cent of plastic managed by recycling remains in B.C.," she said.
Recycle BC Manages 44 per cent of the residential plastic packaging in B.C. People are also least aware that some kinds of plastic recycling exists, according to the report. The least known items are flexible plastics, rigid foam packaging and foam cups and containers.
" Flexible plastics account for a sizable proportion of plastic packaging used in Canada, but collection and recycling rates remain low," the report says. "In 2024, Recycle BC continued to implement many initiatives focused on the management of flexible plastics throughout our system."
Recycle BC gave the option for curbside collection partners to add flexible plastics to their collection programs, effective on Jan 1, 2025.
