Mission, BC—A new education campaign set to help the City of Mission reduce contamination in curbside recycling by 25% and meet Recycle BC requirements kicked off this month.
From snappy videos to new social media and website content to in-the-field recycling bin inspections, the campaign is geared toward demystifying the recycling process by sharing practical and handy tips with residents.
Currently Mission’s curbside and multi-family recycling program has a contamination rate of 9.71%.
“Caring for our environment is priority us here in Mission, and that’s why we have set ambitious goals for diverting waste away from our landfills,” said Mayor Paul Horn. “It only takes a moment to ensure that we are not contaminating our recyclables, but it has a major impact on keeping Mission green. Please make sure your recycling efforts aren’t going to waste and only put the good stuff in your bin.”
Through audits regularly conducted by Recycle BC in Mission, they have shared the top five contaminants found in both the curbside and multi-family recycling programs:
- garbage and foodwaste;
- non-packaging plastic products (ex. plastic storage bins, laundry hampers);
- non-packaging multi-material products (ex. binders, toys, car seats);
- hard and soft cover books; and
- textiles.
To find out where these items go and more, use the City’s Recycle Coach app.
See the video:
If the City does not reduce contamination by 25% by October 2023 there is a possibility of receiving a service level failure credit, which could result in a decrease in the financial incentive the City receives for collecting material on behalf of Recycle BC.
According to Recycle BC audits of Mission’s recycling, approximately 207,211 kg of material placed in the recycling bins from May 2021 to August 2022 was material not accepted in the programs. This is contamination that presents significant operational and financial implications to the Recycle BC program by reducing the value of the recyclables and the ability to effectively recycle material.
Stay tuned for more videos and content on mission.ca and official City of Mission social media channels.
Media Contact
Taryn Hubbard
Manager, Communications and Public Engagement
City of Mission
604-820-3732
thubbard@mission.ca