I have done some research to determine what exactly is recyclable in our area (Kamloops). The goal of this project is not to produce any landfill waste, so if we put something into our recycle bin that isn't actually going to be recycled, then that we don't really achieve our goal.
Worse yet, by putting non-recyclable materials into the recycle bin, we are in effect shipping our garbage further away, increasing carbon emissions, and making our garbage some other jurisdiction's problem, one which may not have the landfill capacity that we have in Kamloops.
So what is recyclable in Kamloops?
I called the local material recovery facility (MRF), Emterra (formerly International Papers Industries) to find out because they handle all the curbside recycling from City of Kamloops.
When I asked the receptionist what materials are recyclable (I was really interested in plastics in particular), she told me that paper, glass, metal, and plastics 1, 2, 4 and 5. Hmm, interesting, the City of Kamloops website says plastics 1-7 but no styrofoam (#6) and no durable plastics (like toys, CDs, lawn chairs, or other material goods).
I was curious, "what happens to plastics 3, 6, and 7 that end up in at Emterra? Are they separated out before they are shipped to Vancouver?" I asked the receptionist. She put me on hold so that she could ask the manager.
"No, we don't sort here, they would be shipped away."
Hmm, even more curious I decided to make another call to Emterra in Surrey to try and find out what happens to plastics 3, 6 and 7. It was like asking a question to a politician, very hard to get a straight answer. I will share with you the best answer I got, which was from their marketing department.
It all depends on what the customer wants. If a customer requests all plastics, then all plastics (I assume) will be recycled in some way. But if the customer requests only plastics 1 and 2, then the order is filled and shipped away.
"What happens to the materials that aren't sold?" I asked, even more curious to find out exactly how serious the problem is (the problem being the fact that people in Kamloops and the TNRD are told to recycle all plastics when they aren't actually being recycled). The woman in the marketing department referred me to the operations manager.
The operations manager told me that not much manual sorting takes place at their plant. But technically, what isn't sold is landfilled (or so I think that is what he said in a round-about/ indirect way).
In case you are not familiar, Vancouver sends about one third of their waste to the Cache Creek landfill. Which could potentially (and I have not verified where Surrey waste goes) mean that a lot of "recyclable" material in Kamloops takes a trip to Vancouver, gets processed in some way, and then takes the trip back to the Cache Creek landfill, about 45 minutes drive West of Kamloops.
The worst case scenario is that the "recyclables" get baled and shipped to Eastern markets, only to be landfilled there.
Question: What is recyclable (in curbside bins) in Kamloops?
Answer: Paper. Metal packaging. Glass packaging. Plastic 1, 2, 4 and 5 packaging
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