Vancouver votes to fully transition recycling collection to MMBC
At the Standing Committee on City Finance and Services, Jerry Dobrovolny, the brand new General Manager of Engineering for the City of Vancouver, expressed support for MMBC’s recommendations.
The City of Vancouver has voted to shift its residential recycling collection directly to Multi-Material BC (MMBC), the packaging and printed paper steward that descended on the British Columbia’s recycling scene in spring of 2014.
On Nov. 17, city staff presented the ins and outs of a full service transition to MMBC, a move that would need to make considerations for several factors, including funding shortfalls and aging waste fleets. Payments from MMBC do not cover the full cost of Vancouver’s collection service delivery, and in 2015, the shortfall between MMBC revenues and program costs may exceed $4 million, according to a committee report. Further, Vancouver currently owns and operates a fleet of 30 recycling trucks that have aged beyond their useful service life and are in “urgent” need of replacement, a cost that could reach about $12 million.
At the Standing Committee on City Finance and Services, Jerry Dobrovolny, the brand new General Manager of Engineering for the City of Vancouver, expressed support for MMBC’s recommendations:
o support further recycling, the City has endorsed the concept and implementation of extended producer responsibility, which holds producers accountable for recycling the materials that they sell. Despite the enthusiasm of the City for this approach, Multi-Material British Columbia Residential Recycling Program – RTS 11153 4 Staff have been reluctant to stop providing a City service which Vancouver residents have come to appreciate and rely upon. In particular, the risk of service level reductions, or reductions in levels of recycling, has been a concern for Staff. However, MMBC has demonstrated their ability to implement recycling systems in other municipalities and have achieved high levels of recycling. Based on MMBC’s successes in other municipalities, and the potential to reinvest over $5 million annually within the City of Vancouver to address other Greenest City initiatives.Vancouver and MMBC expect the full transition of service to be completed by the end of 2016.
Council also directed staff to report back on city-delivered programs that enhance public realm cleanliness, reduce overflowing litter cans, and improve service response time.
Throughout most of the province, residential recycling collection is financed by MMBC, a non-profit industry-led organization that assumed responsibility for managing residential packaging and printed paper recycling on behalf of industry.
Since MMBC was created, the City has provided residential recycling collection services under contract to MMBC.
MMBC manages recycling collection services on behalf of its member organizations, which pay fees based on how much packaging and printed paper they supply into the B.C. market. The cost of the recycling service will be paid for by MMBC instead of through municipal utility fees.