Kenneth Brown
of The Clarion

A change is coming to the town’s recycling program as residents will no longer be able to recycle post consumer plastics such as cellophane packaging.

The Town of Kindersley’s recycling program is contracted to Loraas Environmental Ltd. The company has been accepting all plastics that have recycle numbers from one to seven. But post-consumer plastics including plastic bags will no longer be accepted as of April.

Loraas Environmental has announced a change to its single stream recycling program. The company will no longer accept items such as food wrap, plastic bags, or cellophane wrapping and packaging among other stretchable plastics.

Correspondence from the company states that the change is a result of regulatory changes in China. The company’s letter explains that China was the only viable market for post-consumer plastics, but China’s new recycling program “virtually” eliminates the importing of post consumer plastics.

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The company claims that post consumer plastic is the single largest contaminant in its recycled mixed paper and China will be enforcing a lower contamination rate for mixed paper under its new National Sword program.

According to the letter, 85 to 90 per cent of the market for mixed paper is in China. The company states that it has always been difficult to find a mill for post consumer plastic, and it was often marketed at a net loss. The combination of loss and mixed paper regulation has forced the company to stop accepting stretchable plastics.

Ruebecca Fiddler, a branch manager for Loraas Environmental, said the company would like people to stop recycling post consumer plastics as soon as possible. The Town of Kindersley is accepting the plastics until April 1, but the company wants it to stop sooner, she said.

The company does not accept any plastics without recycle numbers from one to seven. Fiddler said the company would also appreciate if people would rip out the stretchy plastic film in tissue boxes because it’s a paper contaminant.

She noted that sandwich bags and bubble wrap are other common post consumer plastics that will no longer be accepted. If a truck operator notices any non-permitted materials in a blue cart, the cart will not be tipped. The cleanliness of materials from contaminants such as food and plastic is important to the company because the cleaner the materials are, the easier they are to sort, she commented.

“We are experiencing changes in the recycling industry,” she said, adding she is asking residents to help the company get through the changes as seamless as possible and she would like to thank people in advance for their co-operation.

The shift in the industry is becoming commonplace, so Fiddler said consumers will have to take the changes into account when they are making purchases. If people are thinking about the packaging as products are purchased, she said the manufacturers will have to adjust to the shift by consumers.

Fiddler appeared as a delegation at a council meeting on March 12. She told town officials she was at the meeting to answer their questions. She said the landfills in China are filling up quickly, so the country is making changes to its regulations.

She noted that other provinces have started to adjust to the changes and “some communities” have responded by placing an all-out ban on plastic bags in the communities. More stores are charging people for plastic bags as a deterrent.

Bernie Morton, the town’s chief administrative officer, said the town and its partners are building a regional landfill and the facility has yet to start accepting waste. He asked if there is a solution.

He said landfill officials do not want plastic bags blowing around in fields after municipalities start to haul their waste to the new landfill. Morton said the administrators have to deal with the frustrated landowners with bags on their land. He asked if the company was planning to lower the cost of services because the plastics were included in its single stream program when the town signed its agreement.

Fiddler said the company has not implemented any cost savings as a result of the changes, but the cost of its services could be negotiated after the contract ends. During a discussion about potential solutions, she told council it is new for Loraas because similar changes have not been made in the past.

“This is the first time we’ve removed a material from the lines,” the delegate said, adding that the company is willing to work with town officials to look at any available options for the post consumer plastics.

Mayor Rod Perkins said he shares the same concerns with plastic bags blowing around in fields, and he believes the company should be looking for options. Morton said the administration will look at options with the company and a report with potential options will be presented to council in April.

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recycling