EPR Organizations to Build Recycling Unit in British Columbia

An industry-backed partnership will build a $15 million container recycling facility in New Westminster, British Columbia.

Green by Nature EPR (Extended Producer Responsibility), Delta, British Columbia, will manage the sorting and sale of recyclables from the facility on behalf of the Vancouver, British Columbia-based Multi-Material British Columbia (MMBC), a non-profit, industry-led and financed paper and packaging recycling organization. Green by Nature also was founded by industry leaders in waste management in Canada, with expertise in the collection, processing and marketing of waste paper and packaging, according to a news release.

The 179,000-sq.-ft. facility is the first of its kind in North America, the firm said. Green by Nature will process about 185,000 metric tons of packaging and printed material, although not all of it will be at the facility.

It also will boost sorting efficiency of recyclable residential plastics under the MMBC program, which will begin service to about 1.25 million households in May. The organizations estimate that about 20 percent of what’s collected under the MMBC program will be residential plastics sorted by the facility.

The organizations expect the facility to be completed in early 2015. It will employ up to 70. Green by Nature has connected with more than 20 subcontractors for recycling.