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Regional District of Bulkley-Nechako to recycle electronics

Vanderhoof chosen as location for hub
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On March 17, Regional District of Bulkley-Nechako (RDBN) staff presented a memorandum to the waste management committee which discussed options for additional extended producer responsibility (EPR) programs at the transfer stations based on a one-stop-shop concept.

Extended producer responsibility is an environmental policy approach in which the producer’s responsibility for reducing environmental impact and managing the product is extended across the whole life cycle of the product. In this case, it will involve recycling of electronics.

On March 31 at an RDBN board meeting, after being presented with several options on moving forward, the committee decided to pursue an option which would use RDBN transfer stations as a collection point for certain EPR programs operated by municipal bottle depots throughout the regional district.

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The station that was deemed most appropriate for this was the Vanderhoof station, and the board of directors is now moving forward with developing a pilot program for collection of electronic recyclables at the Vanderhoof transfer station on behalf of the RDBN.

Vanderhoof was chosen because the Vanderhoof Bottle Depot is a non-profit organization that uses revenue to fund school programs. They are operated by volunteers and have fewer open hours than other bottle depots.

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The Vanderhoof transfer station and bottle depot will become a secondary collection location for electronics recycling and remain the primary location for other programs the RDBN already runs. The pilot program will run for six months, and only include electronics.

Municipal bottle depots such as in Burns Lake and Houston are able to collect electronics, which will then be transferred to the collection station in Vanderhoof.

According to RDBN staff, they will continue to explore other EPR programs such as lights and lamps, power tools, smoke & gas detectors, small appliances, and bulky equipment.


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Eddie Huband
Multimedia Reporter
eddie.huband@ldnews.net
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